Vietnam appoints army general as new president after months of turmoil

The relation of the wide caput is the astir almighty presumption successful Vietnam portion the presidency is mostly ceremonial and involves gathering overseas dignitaries.

Cuong successful a code vowed to behaviour overseas policies that sought independency and bid and to beforehand Vietnam “as a friend, a trusted partner, an progressive and liable subordinate of the planetary community.” Cuong, who has served successful the Vietnamese service for implicit 4 decades, has been a Politburo subordinate since 2021.

His assignment took spot aft months of uncharacteristic tumult successful Vietnam’s authorities and the decease of erstwhile enactment wide caput Nguyen Phu Trong, who had dominated the country’s enactment since 2011.Trong was an ideologue who viewed corruption arsenic the azygous gravest menace successful maintaining the party’s legitimacy and launched a sweeping anti-graft run known arsenic the “blazing furnace.” It singled some concern and governmental elites, including erstwhile presidents Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Vo Van Thuong and the erstwhile caput of parliament, Vuong Dinh Hue.

As Vietnam’s apical information authoritative astatine the time, Lam had led the run until May. When helium became the caller wide secretary, helium promised to support the anti-corruption fight. The campaign, albeit fashionable with galore Vietnamese citizens, had spooked investors and made the bureaucracy much cautious, slowing down decision-making successful the country.

The assignment of Cuong arsenic the caller president was a “move to stabilize the system” aft the play of turbulence, said Nguyen Khac Giang, a visiting chap successful the Vietnam Studies Program astatine Singapore’s ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute.

“Luong Cuong’s assignment represents a deliberate effort to reconstruct equilibrium betwixt Vietnam’s subject and information factions, peculiarly up of the 2026 Party Congress,” helium said.

“By ceding the presidency, To Lam shows his committedness to the corporate enactment principle, portion inactive retaining the decisive powerfulness successful the system,” helium said.

Vietnam’s leaders are adjacent owed to convene a Communist Party Congress successful aboriginal 2026.’

Critics said that Cuong’s assignment would grow repression successful Vietnam. Ben Swanton of The 88 Project, a radical that advocates for state of look successful Vietnam, said that Cuong would beryllium a “reliable deputy” to Lam.

“The installation of Luong Cuong arsenic president is yet different illustration of the enlargement of Vietnam’s constabulary state,” helium said.