Brief biography of Party General Secretary and State President To Lam

DTO/NDO- The 16th National Assembly (NA) elected General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam (CPV) Central Committee To Lam, a deputy to the 16th legislature, as State President for the 2026–2031 term at its first session on April 7.

The Viet Nam News Agency (VNA) respectfully introduces a brief biography of comrade To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam Central Committee and President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.

Full name: To Lam
Date of birth: July 10, 1957, Ethnicity: Kinh
Native place: Nghia Tru commune, Hung Yen province
Date of Party admission: August 22, 1981
Political theory level: Advanced
Professional expertise: Law – Security
Academic title and degree: Professor of Security Science, PhD in Law.
Positions: - General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam Central Committee in the 13th and 14th tenures

- Member of the Party Central Committee's Political Bureau in the 12th, 13th and 14th tenures

- Member of the Party Central Committee in the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th tenures. President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, Chairman of the Council for National Defence and Security (2024)

- Secretary of the Central Military Commission (since August 2024)
- Head of the Central Steering Committee for Prevention and Control of Corruption, Wastefulness and Negative Phenomena

- Deputy to the National Assembly in the 14th, 15th and 16th tenures
Summary of careers

October 1974 - July 1979: Student at the People’s Security University (now the People’s Security Academy).

July 1979 - December 1988: Officer of the Ministry of Home Affairs (now the Ministry of Public Security).

December 1988 - May 1990: Deputy Head of Division, the General Department of Security, the Ministry of Home Affairs (now the Ministry of Public Security).

May 1990 - June 1993: Head of Division, the General Department of Security, the Ministry of Home Affairs (now the Ministry of Public Security).

June 1993 - May 1997: Deputy Director, the General Department of Security, the Ministry of Public Security.

May 1997 - June 2006: Director, the General Department of Security, the Ministry of Public Security.

June 2006 - December 2009: Deputy Director of the General Department of Security, the Ministry of Public Security; promoted to Major General (April 2007).

December 2009 - February 2010: Deputy Director in charge of the General Department of Security, the Ministry of Public Security.

February 2010 - July 2010: Member of the Central Public Security Party Committee, Secretary of the Party Committee, Director of the General Department of Security I, the Ministry of Public Security; promoted to Lieutenant General (July 2010).

August 2010 - January 2011: Member of the Central Public Security Party Committee, Deputy Minister of Public Security; elected to the Party Central Committee at the 11th National Party Congress.

January 2011 - July 2011: Member of the 11th Party Central Committee, Member of the Central Public Security Party Committee, Deputy Minister of Public Security.

August 2011 – January 2016: Member of the 11th Party Central Committee, Member of the Standing Board of the Central Public Security Party Committee, Deputy Minister of Public Security; promoted to Senior Lieutenant General (September 2014).

At the 12th National Party Congress, To Lam was re-elected to the Party Central Committee and subsequently elected by the Party Central Committee to the 12th Political Bureau.

April 2016-January 2021: Politburo member, member of the Government’s Party Civil Affairs Committee, Secretary of the Central Public Security Party Committee, and Minister of Public Security; promoted to the rank of General (January 2019); deputy head of the Central Steering Committee for the Prevention and Control of Corruption; deputy head of the Party Central Committee’s Subcommittee for Internal Political Protection; member of the National Defence and Security Council; member of the Central Steering Committee for Judicial Reform; deputy to the 14th National Assembly. At the 13th National Party Congress, he was again elected to the Party Central Committee and re-elected to the Politburo for the 13th tenure. He additionally served as head of the Central Highlands Steering Committee from July 2016 to October 2017.

January 2021-May 2024: Politburo member, member of the Government’s Party Civil Affairs Committee, Secretary of the Central Public Security Party Committee, and Minister of Public Security; deputy head of the Central Steering Committee for the Prevention and Control of Corruption and Negative Phenomena; deputy head of the Party Central Committee’s Subcommittee for Internal Political Protection; member of the National Defence and Security Council; member of the Central Steering Committee for Judicial Reform; deputy to the 15th National Assembly.

At the seventh session of the 15th National Assembly, To Lam was elected President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.

May 2024-August 2024: Politburo member and State President; member of the Standing Board of the Central Military Commission; member of the Standing Board of the Central Public Security Party Committee; Chairman of the National Defence and Security Council, head of the Central Steering Committee for Judicial Reform, and head of the Central Steering Committee tasked with reviewing theoretical and practical issues related to 40 years of the socialist-oriented renewal process in Viet Nam; deputy to the 15th National Assembly. From July 16, 2024, he was assigned by the Politburo to preside over the activities of the Party Central Committee, the Politburo and the Secretariat in accordance with designated responsibilities and authority.

At a Party Central Committee meeting on August 3, 2024, he received unanimous endorsement to be nominated and elected as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam Central Committee for the 13th tenure.

August 2024-now: General Secretary of the Party Central Committee for the 13th and 14th tenures; Secretary of the Central Military Commission; member of the Standing Board of the Central Public Security Party Committee; and Head of the Central Steering Committee for Prevention and Control of Corruption, Wastefulness and Negative Phenomena, the Central Steering Committee for Institutional and Legal Reform, and the Central Steering Committee for the Development of Science, Technology, Innovation and Digital Transformation; deputy to the National Assembly for the 15th and 16th tenures.

On April 7, 2026, at the first session of the 16th National Assembly, he was elected President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.

(Source: NDO)