Vietnam’s lawmaking National Assembly (NA) elected General To Lam, Minister of Public Security, state president for the 2021-26 tenure at the NA’s ongoing seventh sitting in Hanoi on Wednesday morning.

Lam was backed by 472 out of all 473 lawmakers present at the house vote.

He took up office to succeed Vo Van Thuong, who stepped down in March this year.

He took an oath of allegiance as Vietnam's state president before the National Assembly in Hanoi the same day.

“I will make an effort to complete all the missions assigned by the Party, state, and people,” he swore during the televised ceremony in Hanoi.

According to the Constitution, the president is the head of the state, representing the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in domestic and foreign affairs.

The president is also the leader of the people’s armed forces and holds the position of chairman of the National Defense and Security Council.

Earlier, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam nominated Lam as the country’s new state president during the closing session of the 9th plenum of the 13th Party Central Committee that was held under the chair of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong on Saturday last week.

Born in 1957 in the northern province of Hung Yen, Lam, a member of the Politburo and the 13th Party Central Committee, and a National Assembly deputy, has dedicated several years to public security.

He was appointed as the head of the Security Department 1 in February 2010.

He was selected as deputy minister of public security in August 2010 and then the leader of this ministry in April 2016.

He also serves as deputy head of the Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption.

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