Lam was ratified by Vietnam's National Assembly after his predecessor resigned amid an ongoing anti-corruption investigation that has rattled the country's political establishment and corporate leaders, leading to repeated top-level government changes. The presidency of Vietnam is largely ceremonial, but his new role as head of state puts the 66-year-old in a "very strong position" to become the next Communist Party general secretary, the country's most important political position, according to Nguyen Khac Giang, an analyst at Singapore's ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. Nguyen Phu Trong, the Communist Party's General Secretary, was elected to a third term in 2021, however at the age of 80, he may not run again after 2026.
Trong is an ideology who considers corruption to be the most serious threat to the party. Lam, Vietnam's senior security official, has led Trong's massive anti-graft effort. Following Lam's confirmation as president, Deputy Public Security Minister Tran Quoc To was designated as the ministry's interim leader. Lam worked in the Ministry of Public Security for over four decades before being appointed minister in 2016. His rise occurred when Vietnam's politburo lost six of its 18 members as a result of the widening anti-graft drive, including two former presidents and the country's parliamentary leader. Many of the investigations of high-profile politicians were led by Lam, according to Giang. Giang believes Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh is the other leading contender to succeed Trong.
Trong is an ideology who sees corruption as the party's most serious threat. Lam, Vietnam's senior security official, has spearheaded Trong's extensive anti-graft drive. Following Lam's confirmation as president, Deputy Public Security Minister Tran Quoc To was selected as his interim successor at the ministry. Lam spent more than four decades at the Ministry of Public Security before becoming minister in 2016. His rise occurred at the same time that Vietnam's politburo lost six of its 18 members as a result of the widening anti-graft drive, including two former presidents and the country's parliamentary chairman. According to Giang, Lam was behind several of the investigations into high-profile politicians. Giang believes Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh is the second key contender to succeed Trong. Meanwhile, Bui Tuan Lam, a Vietnamese noodle vendor who followed the video with a Salt Bae spoof, was jailed for promoting anti-state propaganda and sentenced to five years in prison. In 2017, during Lam's tenure as public security minister, Vietnamese businessperson and former politician Trinh Xuan Thanh and a companion were kidnapped and dragged into a van in downtown Berlin, in what officials called "an unprecedented and flagrant violation of German and international law." Thanh reportedly surrendered to Vietnamese authorities after avoiding an international arrest notice for nearly a year. Germany alleged he and his partner were kidnapped and retaliated by calling Vietnam's ambassador for discussions and dismissing its intelligence.
Thanh received a life sentence in 2018 after being tried in Vietnam. The German Federal Prosecutor's Office announced espionage-related charges against a man accused of being a part of Thanh's abduction in 2022, claiming that the kidnapping was a "operation of the Vietnamese secret service" carried out by Vietnamese agents, members of its embassy in Berlin, and several Vietnamese nationals living in Europe. In 2023, the suspect, named only as Ahn T.L. in accordance with German privacy rules, was found guilty of aiding and abetting an abduction as a foreign agent and sentenced to five years in prison. "The relationship between
