Delegates arrive under a communist flag for the opening ceremony of the 13th national congress of the ruling communist party of Vietnam at the National Convention Center in Hanoi, Vietnam Jan 26, 2021. – Reuters
HANOI: Vietnam’s Communist Party picked Public Security Minister Luong Tam Quang to join the Politburo, the nation’s highest policy making body, according to a statement on the government’s website.
His addition will expand the body to 15 members. The party Central Committee also elected three new members to its secretariat, the statement said.
The National Assembly in June approved Quang to become the country’s minister of public security and replace To Lam, who became president in May. Lam took over the job of party chief after the death of long-time leader Nguyen Phu Trong last month.
The move comes after the departure of Politburo member Dinh Tien Dung, former head of Hanoi’s communist party, in June, and the resignation of Politburo member Truong Thi Mai in May. Dung took responsibility for violations at the finance ministry that occurred during his term as minister from 2016 to 2021.
Mai resigned for violating the party’s rules.
The party this year has removed five Politburo members and four members of the central committee due to their responsibilities or involvement in corruption cases. – Bloomberg