HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnamese President To Lam was named general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the nation’s top position, on Saturday, replacing Nguyen Phu Trong, who died two weeks ago.
Lam took over the duties of party chief on July 18, a day before Trong’s death as his health was deteriorating.
Party delegates unanimously supported Lam’s nomination, officials told a press conference.
Addressing the delegates, he vowed to inherit and promote Trong’s legacy, make no changes to the Southeast Asian nation’s foreign policy, focus on achieving its socioeconomic development goals and “fiercely” continue Vietnam’s anti-graft campaign.
Vietnam does not formally have a paramount leader, but the head of the party effectively plays a more prominent role than others after Trong strengthened the powers of the role during his 13-year tenure.
Lam, a career security officer, had been seen as long aiming to become party chief, with experts calling the presidency a stepping stone for the top job.
He was elected president in May after leading a sweeping campaign of high-profile investigations against corruption as police minister. He replaced Vo Van Thuong, who had been in the job about a year when he quit amid accusations of unspecified wrongdoing.
(Reporting by Phuong Nguyen; Editing by William Mallard)
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