Nguyễn Phú Trọng

Rule Changes

Deceased (July 2024)

Vietnam's Communist Party has governed through collective leadership since reunification in 1976, splitting power among four pillars: the party general secretary, the state president, the prime minister, and the National Assembly chairman. That structure is now shifting. On March 15, 2026, nearly 73.5 million voters went to the polls to elect 500 members of the 16th National Assembly from a slate of 864 candidates, 93 percent of whom belong to the ruling Communist Party. When the new legislature convenes in April, it will formally appoint a leadership lineup already chosen at January's Party Congress—one that places To Lam, the former security chief, atop both the party and the state.

Updated Apr 23

Rule Changes

Deceased (July 19, 2024)

Vietnam's 14th Party Congress concluded January 23, 2026, unanimously re-electing Tô Lâm as General Secretary with all 180 Central Committee votes. The anticipated merger of party chief and state presidency—which would make Lâm Vietnam's most powerful leader since Hồ Chí Minh—was not finalized at the Congress. Instead, that decision now awaits the National Assembly's first session in April 2026, following legislative elections on March 15. The 19-member Politburo's composition "strongly suggests" Lâm will assume the presidency, but the delay preserves procedural legitimacy while maintaining suspense about whether Vietnam will abandon its four-pillar collective leadership model.

Updated Feb 5