BowerGroupAsia wrote an update to clients on Vietnam’s latest government personnel changes.

Context

  • Vietnam continues to fill vacancies left by recent personnel changes amid an ongoing corruption investigation. This follows the selection in May of new candidates for top political positions. The government is now expected to resume normal functions, with the new appointees likely to stay in their positions at least until the end of this political term that will end with the Communist Party congress in early 2026.
  • President To Lam is expected to wield more power and influence now that his protege, Senior Lt. Gen. Luong Tam Quang, has succeeded him at the Ministry of Public Security and his people have been moved into the president’s and the party’s office. Lam supporters will likely continue his anti-corruption efforts, increasing the odds that he will be the next leader of the Communist Party.

Significance

  • The latest appointees include Senior Lt. Gen Luong Tam Quang as minister of public security, Nguyen Thi Thanh as vice chair of the National Assembly, Le Thanh Long as deputy prime minister, Senior Lt. Gen. Nguyen Duy Ngoc as the of the party’s Office of the Central Committee and Lt. Gen. To An Xo as assistant to the state president.
  • Other appointments, which are expected to take place soon, include Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang as chairman of the Central Economic Committee and Le Hoai Trung as deputy prime minister.

Implications

  • The promotion of Trung and Quang to the Politburo and deputy prime minister positions could help diversify the Politburo’s membership with expertise from the civil administration. Trung, a career diplomat with intensive experience in foreign affairs, is known to strongly support upgrading Vietnam-U.S. relations. His promotion will likely bolster bilateral relations. Meanwhile, the promotion of Quang is expected to strengthen Vietnam’s economic policies and strategy.

We will continue to keep you updated on developments in Vietnam as they occur. If you have any comments or questions, please contact BGA Head of Research Murray Hiebert at mhiebert@bowergroupasia.com.

Best regards,

BGA Research Team

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Head of Research

Murray is a top Asia expert and skilled researcher with three decades of experience living and working in Asia. His networks in business, media and government circles are deep and wide-ranging. He is also a senior associate of the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. Earlier he served as deputy director of the program for six years. Prior to joining CSIS, Murray served for five years as senior director for Southeast Asia at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce where he worked with leading American companies, the U.S. government and Southeast Asian ... Read More