Vietnam’s Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong – considered the country’s top leader – died on Friday at the age of 80, his party said.
Trong, who had led the party since 2011, died at a military hospital in Hanoi “due to old age and serious illness”, a statement said.
The announcement came a day after the party said Trong would hand over power to the country’s president and former public security minister To Lam, who had long been considered a contender for the top post.
At the time, the party said Trong would focus on treatment for an undisclosed medical condition, the first time the party had made reference to long-running speculation about the aging leader’s health.
No further details were given on Trong’s illness on Friday, and the party said it would issue “a special statement on the organisation of a national funeral” later.
Trong is the first party general secretary to die in office since Ho Chi Minh’s relative Le Duan died in 1986.
He is also the first leader to serve three consecutive terms as the party chief since the liberalisation of the economy in 1986.
US President Joe Biden called Trong a “champion of the deeper ties” between the American and Vietnamese people, and said both countries are safer because of the bilateral friendship fostered by the late leader.
Russian President Vladimir Putin described Trong as a “true friend” of Russia.
According to Chinese state media, the Communist Party of China has sent a message of condolences to its Vietnamese counterpart.
Vietnam’s communist government, which is undergoing a complete transformation, has undergone a series of upheavals in recent months, with ministers, business leaders and two presidents ousted as part of a sweeping anti-corruption drive.
When it was announced Thursday that Trong was handing over his post, the politburo “called on the whole Party, the people and the military to have firm confidence in the Party’s leadership and state management.”
Lam was elected president by Vietnam’s rubber-stamp parliament in May after her predecessor was forced to resign as part of an anti-corruption drive.
Analysts at the time said Lam, who was deputy head of the steering committee on anti-corruption, had weaponised the investigation to defeat her political rivals.
– ‘Surprising efficiency’ –
Trong’s poor health has led to widespread speculation that he will be unable to remain in power until the 2026 party congress, which is likely to appoint his successor.
He has served in office for a remarkably long time, and human rights groups say his tenure has coincided with rising authoritarianism.
Known as a technocrat with good ties to Beijing, he built the party structure around himself, reaping the benefits of a decade of economic growth that strengthened his legitimacy.
“He restructured the party around himself through his anti-corruption drive,” said Benoit de Tréglode, research director at the Institute for Strategic Research at the French Military Academy in Paris.
“Since 2011 they have carried out the clean-up work with astonishing efficiency.”
The anti-corruption drive, which analysts say is also linked to political infighting, has spread to the party, the police, the armed forces and the business community.
More than 3,500 people have been prosecuted since 2021, according to official data, while those jailed include a former health minister and two former mayors of Hanoi.
President Nguyen Xuan Phuc resigned last year following a scandal relating to the Covid-19 pandemic and two deputy prime ministers were removed from their posts.
Several other key officials across sectors ranging from environment and energy to healthcare and banking are also under investigation.
But the campaign has also had some unintended consequences. Many people fear being targeted, so day-to-day transactions within the business sector and the state machinery have slowed down.
Linh Nguyen, lead analyst at Control Risks in Vietnam, said Trong “would like to be remembered as a populist who is very close to the people, who listens to the people.”
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