To Lam elected as Vietnam's party general secretary

Vietnamese President To Lam has been elected as general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee, according to a press conference here on Saturday. 

Lam was unanimously supported at a meeting of the 13th CPV Central Committee held in the Vietnamese capital on Saturday morning.

Speaking at the press conference, Lam said he will inherit and uphold the revolutionary achievements made by late Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and previous generations of leaders.

He vowed to resolutely lead and direct the entire Party, people and army, together with the CPV Central Committee, the Political Bureau, and the Party Central Committee's Secretariat, to accomplish the goals and tasks set forth by the 13th National Party Congress and successfully organize the 14th National Party Congress.

On July 18, a notice issued by the Political Bureau said that due to Trong's need to focus on receiving health treatment, To Lam, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPV Central Committee and the Vietnamese president, took charge of supervising the work of the CPV Central Committee, the Political Bureau of the CPV Central Committee, and the Secretariat of the CPV Central Committee.

Trong died on July 19 at the age of 80, according to the board of health protection and care for central officials.

Lam, born on July 10, 1957, in Vietnam's northern Hung Yen province, has served at the Ministry of Public Security for a long time.

On May 22, 2024, the 15th National Assembly elected Lam as Vietnam's president for a tenure till 2026.

Lam is a member of the 11th, 12th and 13th CPV Central Committee, a member of the 12th and 13th Party Central Committee Political Bureau, and a deputy to the 14th and 15th National Assembly of Vietnam.