To Lam secures another term to lead Vietnam for the next five years.

On Friday, Vietnam’s top leader, To Lam, was reappointed as head of the ruling Communist Party for another five years after a unanimous central committee vote, vowing to boost growth in the export-driven country.

In the one-party state, Lam was unanimously re-elected to Vietnam’s top position by all 180 party officials from a newly formed committee, following a congress held every five years to set key goals and decide on leadership, according to the party.

Seen as a bold reformer, Lam promised double-digit growth before the vote. Right after being re-elected, he told congress he envisioned a system built on “integrity, talent, courage, and competence,” with performance measured by tangible results.

The party also adopted a resolution at the end of the congress targeting at least 10% annual growth through the decade, and appointed the 19 members of the Politburo, its decision-making body.

Lam tops the list, published on the government website, followed by the current head of parliament, Tran Thanh Man, party heavyweight Tran Cam Tu, and former central bank governor Le Minh Hung, who is seen as a candidate for prime minister.

Lower in the list is Defence Minister Phan Van Giang, widely seen as the second-most powerful person in the country, while incumbent Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and President Luong Cuong are absent.

During his short tenure as party chief starting in mid-2024, Lam oversaw rapid growth driven by sweeping reforms that earned him strong backing but also sparked criticism, as tens of thousands of civil servants lost their jobs while he pushed for quicker decision-making and reduced bureaucracy.

Aware of the discontent stirred by those reforms, Lam moved early to secure support from rival factions within the party, including the powerful military, according to officials familiar with the process.

As concerns mounted about his plans to bolster private conglomerates at the expense of state-owned firms, Lam issued a directive ahead of the party congress underscoring the “leading role” of state enterprises, which include army-controlled telecom and defence giant Viettel.

“He normally meticulously prepares for his moves,” said Le Hong Hiep, senior fellow at the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute, noting that Lam, as state security minister, had manoeuvred deftly to reach the apex of Vietnam’s political system in 2024 when his late predecessor Nguyen Phu Trong was facing prolonged health issues.

In an address to the congress after his re-election, Lam, 68, said he would maintain party unity. He is also seeking to become Vietnam’s president, with a decision expected to be announced later.

Lam’s re-election as party chief sends a reassuring message to foreign investors who value political stability, Hiep said.

Hiep added, however, that Lam’s bid to combine the two top roles — a system resembling the model under Xi Jinping in neighbouring China — “could pose risks to Vietnam’s political system,” which has traditionally depended on collective leadership and internal checks.

Soon after Lam was elected, Xi sent a congratulatory note, calling the two nations a “community with a shared future.”

Earlier this week, speaking to congress delegates in a red-carpeted hall beneath a towering statue of party founder Ho Chi Minh, Lam pledged annual growth of over 10% for the decade, ahead of the party resolution approved on Friday..

The ambitious target differs from World Bank forecasts of an average 6.5% yearly expansion this year and next.

Lam aims to make this happen by shifting Vietnam’s growth model, which for decades has relied on cheap labor and exports, into one driven by innovation and efficiency, with the goal of turning the Southeast Asian country into a high-middle-income economy by 2030.