To Lam Takes Oath As Vietnam’s New President

On Wednesday, Vietnam’s rubber-stamp parliament elected public security minister To Lam as the country’s new president, following a huge anti-corruption drive that prompted his predecessor to step down.

Thousands of Vietnamese people, including numerous senior government and business executives, have been caught up in the Southeast Asian country’s blazing furnace anti-graft campaign, overseen by Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

Analysts have suggested that Lam, who is deputy head of the steering committee on anti-corruption, has weaponized its investigations to bring down his political enemies.

Lam stated in his first statements as president that he was determined to fight corruption and negative phenomena.

Lam succeeds Vo Van Thuong, who resigned in March after only a year in office due to what the party described as violations and shortcomings.

Vietnam’s four-person leadership structure is led by the Communist Party general secretary and includes the president, prime minister, and head of the National Assembly.

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