National Assembly to dismiss To Lam as public security minister ahead of presidential vote

General Secretary of the Standing NA Committee Bui Van Cuong on Tuesday presented a proposal to dismiss Minister of Public Security To Lam from his current position. 468 out of 469 NA delegates agreed with the proposal.

Five days prior, Lam has been recommended to become Vietnam’s new president, following the exit of former President Vo Van Thuong from his position. Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan is the current acting president.

On March 20, the Central Party Committee granted Thuong’s request to step down from his positions as president, member of the Politburo, member of the Central Party Committee, and chairman of the National Defense and Security Council. The National Assembly officially voted for him to step down the next day.

Lam, 67, was assigned by the prime minister in 2009 to become the head of the Security Department 1.

He became the deputy public security minister in August 2010, then the public security minister in April 2016.

He is also the current deputy head of the Central Steering Committee on fighting corruption.

The Ministry of Public Security has six deputy ministers: Colonel General Tran Quoc To who is the standing deputy minister, Colonel General Luong Tam Quang, Colonel General Nguyen Duy Ngoc, Lieutenent General Le Quoc Hung, Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Long and Lieutenant General Le Van Tuyen.