Tô Lâm

In 2016, Trịnh Xuân Thanh; former member of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Hậu Giang province and Delegates of the 14th National Assembly; was investigated and concluded that he had many shortcomings and serious violations during his time working at Petrovietnam Construction Joint Stock Corporation; being investigated by the Police Agency, the Ministry of Public Security issued a decision to prosecute the defendant for intentionally violating State regulations on economic management, causing serious consequences; At the same time, issued a temporary arrest warrant and a search warrant for Trịnh Xuân Thanh.

After determining that Trịnh Xuân Thanh had fled, the Ministry of Public Security issued a national and international arrest warrant for him. Minister Lâm directed the arrest of Trịnh Xuân Thanh and resolved this special criminal case. German investigators and Slovak police accused Lâm of directing the arrest of figures from Germany through international cooperation with Slovakia and Russia. According to German and Slovak authorities, the kidnapping of Thanh occurred during a trip of Lâm in July 2017, and this affected Vietnam's diplomatic relations with Germany and Slovakia. Thanh was eventually convicted of intentionally violating State regulations on economic management causing serious consequences and embezzlement of assets in 2018 and sentenced to life in prison.

High-level leadership case: since 2016, he has been assigned the position of Minister of Public Security and Deputy Head of the Central Anti-Corruption Commission, assistant to General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng, Lâm has directed the police in investigating, handling, and prosecuting corruption and serious violations, including many large, national cases. We can mention the case of Đinh La Thăng: prosecution, trial, and sentence of 30 years in prison for former Politburo member, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, Đinh La Thăng due to economic management violations while holding the position of Chairman of Vietnam Oil and Gas Group;

The case of the former Minister of Information and Communications, Nguyễn Bắc Son and Trương Minh Tuấn on charges of violating management regulations, using public investment capital causing serious consequences and accepting bribes, sentenced to life imprisonment and 14 years in prison respectively; The case of former Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee, Nguyễn Đức Chung being arrested and investigated for appropriating secret State documents. In 2022, he and the Ministry of Public Security investigated into two major scandals related to the case of repatriation flights to "rescue" citizens returning to the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the scandal at the Việt Á company caused many officials to be investigated and imprisoned. The attack on two Commune People's Committee headquarters in Đắk Lắk 2023: At a discussion in the National Assembly on 20 June, Lâm commented: The incident in Dak Lak shows that security cannot be overlooked at the base.

During his 2016–2024 term, Police General Lâm represented the Vietnam People's Public Security Force, welcoming international representatives visiting Vietnam, conducting tours to partner countries, strengthening international relations, promoting integration in the new period and ensuring sovereignty and the country's security. In 2016, Lâm welcomed the Chinese delegation of State Councillor and Public Security minister Guo Shengkun in his Hanoi visit. The cabinet organized conferences to strengthen cooperation in fighting crime between the countries. In 2017, he and his delegation visited Slovakia, met with Prime Minister Robert Fico; together with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs of Slovakia Robert Kaliňák, signed the Cooperation Agreement Between the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Slovakia on the Fight Against Crime.

In 2018, Lâm visited and worked in the United Kingdom, together with the Home Secretary Sajid Javid, signed and handed over the 'Memorandum of Understanding between the Government and the United Kingdom'. Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on cooperation in preventing and combating human trafficking.

In 2019, Lâm and his delegation visited South Korea, met with Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, and Prosecutor General Moon Moo-il, strengthening cooperation between the two countries. In 2020, he visited Southeast Asian countries such as Laos, met with Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith and Lao Minister of Security Vilay Lakhamphong signed the Plan to implement the Cooperation Agreement between the two ministries; Brunei, to exchange and increase information sharing on traditional and non-traditional crime and security situations, including methods, tricks and the connection of types of crimes that affect the two countries. At the end of 2020, Lâm had a meeting and worked with the US high-level delegation led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo within the framework of the official visit on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the United States.

From 9 to 10 April 2023, Lâm had a trip to India. During the meeting with Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Kumar Doval, the two sides committed to further deepening the Vietnam-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, especially in issues such as security and defense, contributing to maintaining peace, prosperity and stability of the two countries, the region and the world. From 19 to 22 May 2023, he paid a visit to Iran at the invitation of Iranian Minister of Interior Ahmad Vahidi. They agreed to promote cooperation between the two Ministries in the field of security and order, coordinate in handling transnational crimes and crimes related to citizens of the two countries, and absolutely protect the safety of flights. Visits by senior leaders ensure security and safety for the headquarters of representative agencies and citizens of this country working, studying, sightseeing, traveling, and investment cooperation in the country's territory that strengthen cooperation on cybersecurity, promote cooperation in the field of training, improve professional capacity and foreign languages, and support each other on international forums of which the two sides are members.

Lâm held talks with Iranian Justice Minister Amin Houssein Rahimi. After the talks, authorized by President Võ Văn Thưởng, Lâm signed an Extradition Agreement and an Agreement on the Transfer of Prisoners between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Islamic Republic with Iranian Justice Minister A.H. Rahimi. He also worked with Commander-in-Chief of the National Police Ahmad-Reza Radan to identify specific cooperation activities in the field of crime prevention, especially organized crime and transnational drug and high-tech crimes. He also met with the First Vice President of Iran, Mohammad Mokhber.

In early November 2021, a video was posted on the TikTok account of the chef Salt Bae (Nusret Gökçe). The clip, which was later removed, showed Lâm dining at Salt Bae's expensive restaurant in London, reportedly during his trip to the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference. In the video, chef Gökçe is seen feeding Lâm a piece of gold-coated beef. It is unclear who paid for the meal, but according to international newspapers, the event sparked outrage among many Vietnamese netizens. They considered it a lavish meal, with the price of the gold-coated beef dish exceeding the minister's monthly salary, especially as Vietnam was suffering heavily from the COVID-19 pandemic, with millions of people facing difficulties. The news of a communist official dining at a luxurious restaurant was reported by various media outlets in several countries, with some sources highlighting the contrast between this and his previous act of laying flowers at Karl Marx's grave.

Despite attracting significant international media attention, the Vietnamese press remained silent on the matter. On social media, the hashtag "#saltbae" was blocked worldwide for a few days and was only accessible again on 9 November. Facebook did not provide a reason for the block and did not clarify whether the Vietnamese government requested the removal of the video content. Additionally, on 16 November 2021, Bùi Tuấn Lâm, 39, a noodle vendor in Đà Nẵng, was reportedly targeted by police after posting a video on his Facebook page in which he imitated Gökce's gesture. On 7 September 2022, Bùi Tuấn Lâm was arrested by multiple plainclothes police officers at his noodle stand. After a trial only lasting a day, Lam was sentenced to five-and-a half years in prison and four years of probation upon being released.

According to The Diplomat, despite the "gold steak" scandal, Lâm survived the Blazing Furnace anti-corruption campaign initiated by General Secretary Trọng. This was largely because, as police chief, Lâm himself led much of the purge, exercising control over Vietnam's security apparatus and access to intelligence information, which enabled him to eliminate rivals and later become the country's most powerful leader.

On 28 February 2025, just days after completing the streamlining of agencies, the Politburo and the Secretariat of the Central Committee, headed by Tô Lâm, issued Conclusion 127-KL/TW. The fundamental content of this conclusion included studying the merger of many provinces and cities, abolishing the district level, streamlining the apparatus in mass organizations, building a system of courts and procuratorates without district levels (similar to the police system when district-level police were abolished nationwide on March 1st according to Conclusion 121-KL/TW), and streamlining the military apparatus. To implement these contents, Conclusion 127 even directed a review, amendment, and supplementation of Party regulations, the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and State laws, as well as temporarily suspending the organization of Party congresses at the commune and district levels nationwide.

On 22 December 2024, Lâm signed and promulgated Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW of the Politburo on breakthroughs in the development of science, technology, innovation, and national digital transformation. On January 13, 2025, the National Conference on Breakthroughs in Science, Technology, Innovation, and Digital Transformation was solemnly held in Hanoi. This conference announced the establishment of the Central Steering Committee on Science, Technology, Innovation, and Digital Transformation, directly under the Politburo, chaired by him.

Since Lâm took office in mid-2024, the stock market climbed nearly 40% last year, outpacing most other emerging markets, despite headwinds from U.S. trade tariffs and frequent natural disasters. He has promised a "new growth model", led by Vietnam's conglomerates, that focuses on innovation and the digital economy, pivoting away from reliance on exports and cheap labour that have fuelled a decades-long economic boom, luring manufacturing investments from foreign multinationals such as Samsung, Apple, and Nike. While courting foreign capital and technology remains a priority, Lam says Vietnam must gradually move beyond cheap labour, pledging annual growth of at least 10% for the rest of this decade. Growth accelerated to 8% in 2025 from 7% in 2024.

On 19 June 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Vietnam and met with Lâm. Putin thanked Vietnam for its "balanced position" on the Russo-Ukrainian war. On 18 August 2024, Lâm arrived in China for a three-day visit, his first overseas visit since becoming president and general secretary. He first arrived in Guangzhou before heading to Beijing. Following his arrival in Beijing, he met with CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping. The two communist leaders held talks and signed cooperation documents. Afterwards, Xi congratulated Lâm on his election as general secretary and new leader.

Lâm began a two-day state visit to Ireland on 2 October 2024 by meeting President Michael D. Higgins and his wife, Sabina, at Áras an Uachtaráin, the presidential residence. The two leaders held wide-ranging talks during this first state visit to Ireland by a Vietnamese leader, reciprocating Higgins' inaugural visit by an Irish president to Vietnam in 2016. Lâm returned to the Áras for a state dinner in the evening along with members of the Irish Vietnamese community.

On 18 January 2026, in his capacity as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Tô Lâm accepted an invitation from the United States President Donald Trump to join the US-led Board of Peace as a founding member. On 19 February 2026, Tô Lâm attended the inaugural meeting of the Gaza Board of Peace in Washington D.C and had a formal in-person meeting with Trump at the White House. The two leaders held wide-ranging talks, in which Trump congratulated Lâm on his election and said he would work to remove Vietnam from being restricted in accessing U.S. advanced technology.