The general secretary of Vietnam’s Communist Party Nguyen Phu Trong — considered the country’s top leader — died on Friday aged 80, his party said.

In a statement, it said Trong, who had led the party since 2011, died “due to old age and serious illness” at a military hospital in Hanoi.

The announcement came a day after the party announced Trong would hand the reins of power to the country’s president and former public security minister To Lam, long seen as jockeying for the top job.

At the time, the party said Trong would be focusing on treatment for an undisclosed medical condition, the first time it had referenced longstanding speculation about the ageing leader’s health.

There were no further details about Trong’s illness on Friday, and the party said it would later make “a special statement on the organisation of the funeral at the national level”.

Trong is the first party general secretary to die in office since the death in 1986 of Le Duan, a brother-in-arms of Ho Chi Minh.

He is also the first leader to have held three consecutive mandates at the head of the party, after the liberalisation of the economy in 1986.

US President Joe Biden called Trong a “champion of the deep ties” between the American and Vietnamese people, and said both countries were more secure because of the bilateral friendship fostered by the late leader.

Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed Trong as a “true friend” of Russia.

China’s communist party sent a message of condolences to its Vietnamese counterpart, Chinese state media said.

Vietnam’s communist regime, which is in the midst of a complete overhaul, has undergone a series of upheavals in recent months, with ministers, business leaders and two presidents all falling from grace as part of a vast anti-corruption campaign.

On Thursday, when it was announced Trong was handing over his duties, the politburo called “on the entire party, people and army to have absolute trust in the party’s leadership and state management”.

Lam was voted in as president in May by Vietnam’s rubber-stamp parliament after his predecessor was forced to resign as part of the anti-graft drive.

Analysts said at the time that Lam, who was deputy head of the steering committee on anti-corruption matters, had weaponised investigations to take down his political rivals.

– ‘Astonishing efficiency’ –

Trong’s poor health had fuelled widespread speculation that he would not be able to stay in power until the 2026 party congress, which is expected to appoint a successor.

He enjoyed remarkable longevity in office, during a mandate that rights groups say has coincided with increasing authoritarianism.

Known for being a technocrat and on good terms with Beijing, he structured the party around himself, benefiting from a decade of economic growth that strengthened his legitimacy.

“He restructured and reorganised the party around him” through his anti-corruption drive, said Benoit de Treglode, research director at the Institute for Strategic Research at France’s military academy in Paris.

“Since 2011, he has cleaned up with astonishing efficiency.”

The anti-corruption drive, which analysts say is also linked to political infighting, has swept through the party, police, armed forces and business community.

More than 3,500 people have been indicted since 2021, official figures show, while those sent to prison include a former health minister and two previous mayors of Hanoi.

Following a scandal related to the Covid-19 pandemic last year, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc resigned and two deputy prime ministers were removed from their positions.

Many other prominent officials working across a wide range of sectors, from environment and energy to healthcare and banking, are under investigation.

But the campaign has had unintended consequences. With many fearful of being caught in its crosshairs, everyday transactions within the business sector and the state apparatus have slowed.

Trong would like to be remembered “as a populist, someone very close to the people, who listens to the people”, said Linh Nguyen, lead analyst for Control Risks on Vietnam.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Vietnam’s Public Security Minister To Lam. File
| Photo Credit: AFP

Vietnam has nominated its Public Security Minister To Lam as its new president, state media said on May 18, after his predecessor resigned in the ongoing anti-corruption campaign that has shaken up the country’s political establishment.

The Communist Party’s Central Committee had agreed to the nomination of To Lam, a Politburo member, as President, state-run Vietnam News Agency reported. The nomination will likely be approved by Vietnam’s National Assembly during its next session on May 21.

Former President Vo Van Thuong resigned in March after a little over a year in the position. His predecessor had also resigned in 2023 while taking “political responsibility” for corruption scandals during the pandemic.

The anti-graft campaign is being led by Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, 79, an ideologue who views graft as the gravest threat facing the party. The country’s most powerful politician has vowed that no one is untouchable in the so-called “blazing furnace” campaign.

Mr. Lam, who spent over four decades in the Ministry of Public Security before becoming the Minister in 2016, has been a key figure in the execution of anti-corruption measures.

The most recent high-profile resignation linked to the campaign was that of Vietnam’s Parliament head, Vuong Dinh Hue, in April. The current vice-speaker, Tran Thanh Man, has been appointed as Mr. Hue’s replacement.

Political instability can threaten economic ambitions, fear experts

The president and the head of Vietnam’s Parliament are among the top four political positions in the party and the resignations point to instability that analysts say could threaten Vietnam’s ambitions as it vies to become an alternative to China in the region’s supply chains.

Analysts say that rivals in the party were jostling to position themselves as a successor to Mr. Trong, who was elected to an unprecedented third term as party chief in 2021. Given his age, experts say that it is unlikely that he will continue for another term.

Chinese President Xi Jinping. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Chinese leader Xi Jinping told Vietnam’s second-highest ranking official on October 20 that both countries must not forget the “original intention” of their traditional friendship.

China and the United States have been jostling for influence among Southeast Asian nations including Vietnam, which in September elevated its ties with Washington to a comprehensive strategic partnership, putting its one-time enemy on a par with Beijing and Moscow.

China has traditionally strong ties with Vietnam since diplomatic relations were established in 1950, despite a brief war in 1979. Beijing has backed Hanoi’s fight against former colonial ruler France, and later, against Saigon and the United States during the Vietnam War.

“Faced with the ever-changing international situation and arduous domestic development tasks, the two countries must not forget the original intention of their traditional friendship,” Xi told visiting Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong.

Mr. Thuong, Vietnam’s No.2 after its Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, held talks with Xi after attending Beijing’s Belt and Road Forum.

In early October, Reuters reported that Vietnamese and Chinese officials were preparing for a possible trip by Xi to Hanoi either at the end of October or in early November, citing people familiar with the plans.

“The two sides should adhere to the principle of joint consultation,” Xi told Mr. Thuong, adding that China and Vietnam should capitalise on their geographical proximity and industrial complementarity. There was no mention of any Xi visit in the Chinese state media readout of their meeting.

On Wednesday, Vietnamese state media reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin had accepted an invitation from Mr. Thuong to “soon” visit Vietnam, when the two men met on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum. In September, U.S. President Joe Biden visited Hanoi.