Vietnam president handed power as party leader seeks medical care

Vietnam leader Nguyen Phu Trong, 80, is taking a break to focus on his health – Copyright POOL/AFP LUONG THAI LINH

Vietnam’s communist regime handed the reins of power Thursday to the country’s largely ceremonial president, as 80-year-old leader and party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong temporarily stood down for health reasons. 

The politburo appointed President To Lam to take over as both the party and country’s caretaker leader, the party said in an online statement.

Lam was assigned to lead the works of the party central committee, the politburo and the secretariat, while Trong would “focus on active treatment”.

“The Politburo calls on the entire party, people and army to have absolute trust in the party’s leadership and state management,” the statement said.

It gave no indication of how long Lam would be assigned to the role, nor did it address why Trong required medical treatment. 

The country’s communist regime, which is in the midst of a complete overhaul, has undergone a series of upheavals in recent months, with two presidents, ministers and business leaders falling from grace as part of a vast anti-corruption operation. 

Headed by the Communist Party general secretary, Vietnam’s leadership structure gives the president the second-most authority — but the position is largely seen as ceremonial.

The communist government’s hierarchy also includes the prime minister and the head of the National Assembly.

Trong’s poor health has fuelled widespread speculation that he will not be able to stay in power until the 2026 party congress that is expected to appoint a successor. 

In office since 2011, the party leader has enjoyed remarkable longevity in his role, which rights groups say has coincided with increasing  authoritarianism.

Known for being a technocrat and on good terms with Beijing, Trong had structured the party around himself, benefiting from a decade of economic growth that has strengthened his legitimacy. 

Lam, 67, served as Vietnam’s public security minister before being voted in as president in May by Vietnam’s rubber-stamp parliament after his predecessor was forced to resign in a major anti-corruption campaign.

Analysts said at the time that Lam, who was deputy head of the steering committee on anti-corruption matters, had weaponised investigations to take down his political rivals.

In his first remarks as president, Lam said he was “determined to fight corruption and negative phenomena”.