Vietnam’s To Lam is ruthlessly cementing control and reshaping the party in his image

Make no doubt, Lam is in full control.

Following the funeral of the long-serving general secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, the Central Committee elected Lam as its acting general secretary.

He moved with the speed and dispatch that had been evident since he began his systematic targeting of rivals on the Politburo in December 2022. In the following 20 months, he orchestrated the resignations of seven of the 18 members who had been elected at the 13th Congress in January 2021.

It was an unprecedented degree of political churn and personal ambition, in a system that prides itself on stability and collective leadership.

Even before his election, Lam was nominally in charge, often appearing in Trong’s absence, as the 80-year-old leader was in failing health.

While the focus has been on the resignations that Lam forced, attention must shift to his consolidation of power, which has been every bit as efficient.

Lam was elected president in April, following the forced resignation of presidents Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Vo Van Thuong.

He tried to concurrently hold onto the presidency and the Ministry of Public Security, but was met with resistance from both the Central Committee and the National Assembly. While Lam’s opponents tried to install Tran Quoc To, the younger brother of former president Tran Dai Quang, Lam was able to secure his own protégé’s rise.

In addition to being his long-serving deputy, Luong Tam Quang has close family ties to Lam. The two men hail from the same province, Hung Yen. During the Vietnam war, which the Vietnamese call “American War”, Quang’s father served as the personal bodyguard to Lam’s father.

On August 16, Lam secured the promotion of Quang to the Politburo. He is a key ally on the elite 15-member body.

But Lam has