Vietnam police chief elected to powerful Politburo

The Party Central Committee (PCC) on Friday voted to move Minister of Public Security Luong Tam Quang up to the Politburo, the country’s supreme decision-making body.

Quang, 59, a native of the northern province of Hung Yen, made his career in the Ministry of Public Security and was approved to become the minister on June 6 after his predecessor, To Lam, became State President.

At the 13th National Party Congress in January 2021, Quang was elected to the 200-member PCC.

With the latest addition, the Politburo now has 15 members, compared to 18 at the start of the 2021-2026 term. Seven members have left the Politburo since 2021, including two State presidents and one National Assembly chair.

In May, the PCC added four to the Politburo: Le Minh Hung, Nguyen Trong Nghia, Bui Thi Minh Hoai, and Do Van Chien.

Also at the plenum on Friday, the PCC elected three men to the Secretariat: head of the PCC’s Office Nguyen Duy Ngoc; Senior Lieutenant General Trinh Van Quyet, head of the General Department of Politics under the Vietnam People’s Army; and Prosecutor General of the Supreme People’s Procuracy Le Minh Tri.

The Secretariat, now comprising 12 members, oversees daily issues of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

At today’s plenum, the PCC also commented on the personnel proposed to fill up positions at State agencies for the 2021-2026 term.