Vietnam’s public security minister has been appointed as the country’s president, elevating the official in charge of a sweeping corruption crackdown to the second-most powerful position in the national leadership.
The National Assembly on Wednesday elected General To Lam, who was nominated by the ruling Communist party at the weekend, as president, state media reported.
The appointment is the latest shuffle in Vietnam’s top ranks, which was long known for political stability under the Communist party’s tight control. But a years-long corruption crackdown has brought unprecedented political upheaval just as the south-east Asian country has emerged as an international manufacturing alternative to China.