Vietnam’s To Lam wins second term, extends top position for 5 more years

Vietnam’s Communist Party ⁠has ​re-appointed To ‍Lam as its ‍general ⁠secretary, extending his top leadership position in the Southeast Asian nation for the next five years.

To Lam was “unanimously” re-elected to the post of general secretary, according ‌to an announcement made ‌at ‌the conclusion of the party’s five-yearly ⁠congress in the capital Hanoi on Friday.

The party central committee “absolutely unanimously elected Comrade To Lam to continue holding the position of General Secretary”, the party said in a statement.

Tran Thanh Man, chairman of Vietnam’s National Assembly, said the party chief had received 180 votes out of 180 to remain in the top job.

Lam’s re-election as party chief will send a reassuring message to foreign investors who regularly cite political stability as a key factor in Vietnam’s appeal as a pro-business environment.

Lam, 68, is also seeking to become president, with a decision on that position ‌expected to be announced later.

Earlier this week, addressing hundreds of congress delegates seated in red-upholstered chairs in a red-carpeted conference hall under a towering statue of the Communist Party’s founder and liberation struggle hero, Ho Chi Minh, Lam promised to continue fighting corruption and ensure annual growth above 10 percent through to 2030.

Speaking at the end of ‌the ‌congress and his reappointment on Friday, Lam committed to ⁠working hard to meet the expectations ‌of Vietnam’s people.

Lam’s retaining of the top party position follows his implementation of sweeping reforms since taking over as Communist Party General Secretary in late 2024, which have shocked the country with their speed and severity for some sectors.

He has eliminated whole layers of government bureaucracy, abolished eight ministries or government agencies and cut nearly 150,000 jobs from the state payroll, while pushing ambitious rail and power projects as well as weeding out corruption.

Lam said in a speech this week that he wants to change the country’s economic growth model, which has hinged for decades on cheap labour and exports, instead turning Vietnam into a high-middle-income economy by 2030 by focusing on innovation and efficiency.

He also warned of the overlapping threats Vietnam faces “from natural disasters, storms and floods to epidemics, security risks, fierce strategic competition, and major disruptions in energy and food supply chains”.