Updated June 7, 2024, 05:12 a.m. ET.
Vietnam’s National Assembly has approved a resolution to appoint Senior Lt. Gen. Luong Tam Quang as Minister of Public Security for the 2021-2026 tenure.
Quang’s was the only name put forward by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Thursday ahead of a closed vote later that day.
Quang, 58, is a member of the Communist Party Central Committee and was serving as deputy minister of public security.
On May 21, the National Assembly relieved then-public security minister To Lam from the position after his election as state president.
Hanoi-based political observer Dr. Nguyen Quang A told Radio Free Asia Quang’s appointment puts To Lam in a very strong position and it had clearly been the new president’s plan all along.
“There was unofficial information about a meeting on ‘strengthening key leadership positions at the Ministry of Public Security’,” he said.
“The information, which went viral on social media, originated from a photo of the meeting panel in which participants were said to be the ministry’s key personnel and police heads from cities and provinces.
“If the MPS Party Committee held such a meeting, To Lam must have been the mastermind because he’s still the committee's secretary, although he’s no longer the MPS minister.”
The minister of public security is in charge of police and security forces. They are responsible for the internal security of Vietnam, law enforcement, managing immigration and protecting citizens against external threats.
Quang was born in the northern province of Hung Yen. He is a graduate of Vietnam's Public Security Academy. He served as assistant to the deputy minister of public security, then chief of staff and spokesperson of the ministry. In 2019, he became deputy minister of public security and also headed up its Security Investigation Agency.
Carl Thayer, emeritus professor at the Australian Defence Force Academy, advised against reading too much into To Lam’s choice of successor.
“It is normal procedure to include someone from the public security bloc on the Central Committee to fill the vacancy of Minister of Public Security,” he said.
“As the head of the Ministry’s Investigative Security Agency Quang is expected to maintain continuity in the anti-corruption campaign pursued by his former boss.
“Minister Quang has wide recent experience in dealing with counterparts in ASEAN.”
Translated by Anna Vu. Edited by Mike Firn.
Updated with comments by Carl Thayer.