Ex-top police officer becomes Vietnam President

To Lam, retired top police officer, former minister of public security, has been sworn in as the 13th president of Vietnam.

Lam was elected by the Vietnamese parliament as the state president, a position which will ultimately lead him to become the chief of the ruling communist party.

The 66 year old election was in line with normal procedures in the tightly-controlled one-party state, lawmakers voted unanimously on a resolution that approved Lam’s election after a secret ballot about him, the only candidate for the job.

As head of the public security ministry, Lam has been a crucial figure in a sweeping anti-graft campaign, known as “blazing furnace”, which is aimed at rooting out widespread corruption but has also been seen by critics as a tool to sideline opponents during political infighting.

After his election, Lam told lawmakers he would “resolutely and persistently continue the fight against corruption”.

The state president holds a largely ceremonial role but is one of the country’s top four political positions, the so-called ‘four pillars’. The others are the party chief, the prime minister and the parliament speaker.