Minister of Public Security John Bolton met then–Police General Tô Lâm at the
White House in 2019. In April 2016, the 13th National Assembly confirmed Lâm as
Minister of Public Security. Shortly thereafter, the Politburo appointed him Secretary of the Central Public Security Party Committee. On 28 July 2016, at the first session of the 14th National Assembly, President
Trần Đại Quang appointed him to the position of
Minister of Public Security of the 14th Government of Vietnam, term 2016—2021. In this new term, he became the highest leader of the Vietnam People's Police, working under the Government led by Prime Minister
Nguyễn Xuân Phúc. His mandate included overseeing national security, social order, counterintelligence, and criminal investigations. On 27 April 2016, Lâm was appointed by the Politburo to concurrently hold the position of Deputy Head of the Central Steering Committee on Anti-corruption of the Communist Party of Vietnam, to participate in assisting and supporting the Head of the committee, General Secretary
Nguyễn Phú Trọng, in anti-corruption work. On 30 July 2016, he was assigned by the
Politburo to hold the position of Head of the Central Highlands Steering Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam. On 11 October 2017, at the 6th Central Conference of the 12th term, the
11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam agreed to end the activity of the Northwest, Central Highlands, and Southwest Steering Committees; he was relieved from this position. On 29 January 2019, Lâm was promoted by General Secretary and President Nguyễn Phú Trọng from Senior General to Police General together with Army General
Lương Cường, Director of the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People's Army. On 30 January 2021, at the Central election, he was elected as an official member of the
13th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam. One day later, at the first session of the 13th Party Central Committee, he was elected a member of the
13th Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Following the 13th National Congress in early 2021, Lâm retained his seats on both the
Central Committee and the Politburo, and was subsequently re-appointed as Minister of Public Security for the 2021–2026 term. On 25 August 2021,
Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính signed Decision No. 1438/QD-TTg, appointing Lâm as a member of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control, Head of the Social Order and Security Subcommittee.
Major cases In 2016,
Trịnh Xuân Thanh; former member of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of
Hậu Giang province and Delegates of the 14th National Assembly; was investigated and concluded that he had many shortcomings and serious violations during his time working at Petrovietnam Construction Joint Stock Corporation; being investigated by the Police Agency, the Ministry of Public Security issued a decision to prosecute the defendant for intentionally violating State regulations on economic management, causing serious consequences; At the same time, issued a temporary arrest warrant and a search warrant for Trịnh Xuân Thanh. After determining that Trịnh Xuân Thanh had fled, the Ministry of Public Security issued a national and international arrest warrant for him. Minister Lâm directed the arrest of Trịnh Xuân Thanh and resolved this special criminal case. German investigators and Slovak police accused Lâm of directing the arrest of figures from
Germany through international cooperation with
Slovakia and
Russia. According to German and Slovak authorities, the kidnapping of Thanh occurred during a trip of Lâm in July 2017, and this affected Vietnam's diplomatic relations with Germany and Slovakia. Thanh was eventually convicted of intentionally violating State regulations on economic management causing serious consequences and embezzlement of assets in 2018 and sentenced to life in prison. High-level leadership case: since 2016, he has been assigned the position of Minister of Public Security and Deputy Head of the Central Anti-Corruption Commission, assistant to General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng, Lâm has directed the police in investigating, handling, and prosecuting corruption and serious violations, including many large, national cases. We can mention the case of
Đinh La Thăng: prosecution, trial, and sentence of 30 years in prison for former Politburo member, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, Đinh La Thăng due to economic management violations while holding the position of Chairman of Vietnam Oil and Gas Group; The case of the former Minister of Information and Communications, Nguyễn Bắc Son and Trương Minh Tuấn on charges of violating management regulations, using public investment capital causing serious consequences and accepting bribes, sentenced to life imprisonment and 14 years in prison respectively; The case of former Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee,
Nguyễn Đức Chung being arrested and investigated for appropriating secret State documents. In 2022, he and the Ministry of Public Security investigated into two major scandals related to the case of repatriation flights to "rescue" citizens returning to the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the scandal at the Việt Á company caused many officials to be investigated and imprisoned. The attack on two Commune People's Committee headquarters in Đắk Lắk 2023: At a discussion in the National Assembly on 20 June, Lâm commented: The incident in Dak Lak shows that security cannot be overlooked at the base.
Foreign affairs During his 2016–2024 term, Police General Lâm represented the Vietnam People's Public Security Force, welcoming international representatives visiting Vietnam, conducting tours to partner countries, strengthening international relations, promoting integration in the new period and ensuring sovereignty and the country's security. In 2016, Lâm welcomed the Chinese delegation of
State Councillor and
Public Security minister
Guo Shengkun in his Hanoi visit. The cabinet organized conferences to strengthen cooperation in fighting crime between the countries. In 2017, he and his delegation visited Slovakia, met with
Prime Minister Robert Fico; together with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs of Slovakia
Robert Kaliňák, signed the Cooperation Agreement Between the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Slovakia on the Fight Against Crime.
Benigno Aquino III welcomed Minister Tô Lâm at
Malacañang Palace in 2016. In 2018, Lâm visited and worked in the
United Kingdom, together with the
Home Secretary Sajid Javid, signed and handed over the 'Memorandum of Understanding between the Government and the United Kingdom'. Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on cooperation in preventing and combating human trafficking. In 2019, Lâm and his delegation visited
South Korea, met with
Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, and Prosecutor General Moon Moo-il, strengthening cooperation between the two countries. In 2020, he visited Southeast Asian countries such as Laos, met with Lao Prime Minister
Thongloun Sisoulith and Lao Minister of Security Vilay Lakhamphong signed the Plan to implement the Cooperation Agreement between the two ministries;
Brunei, to exchange and increase information sharing on traditional and non-traditional crime and security situations, including methods, tricks and the connection of types of crimes that affect the two countries. At the end of 2020, Lâm had a meeting and worked with the US high-level delegation led by
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo within the framework of the official visit on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the United States. From 9 to 10 April 2023, Lâm had a trip to
India. During the meeting with Indian National Security Advisor
Ajit Kumar Doval, the two sides committed to further deepening the Vietnam-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, especially in issues such as security and defense, contributing to maintaining peace, prosperity and stability of the two countries, the region and the world. From 19 to 22 May 2023, he paid a visit to
Iran at the invitation of Iranian Minister of Interior
Ahmad Vahidi. They agreed to promote cooperation between the two Ministries in the field of security and order, coordinate in handling transnational crimes and crimes related to citizens of the two countries, and absolutely protect the safety of flights. Visits by senior leaders ensure security and safety for the headquarters of representative agencies and citizens of this country working, studying, sightseeing, traveling, and investment cooperation in the country's territory that strengthen cooperation on cybersecurity, promote cooperation in the field of training, improve professional capacity and foreign languages, and support each other on international forums of which the two sides are members. He also worked with Commander-in-Chief of the National Police
Ahmad-Reza Radan to identify specific cooperation activities in the field of crime prevention, especially organized crime and transnational drug and high-tech crimes. The clip, which was later removed, showed Lâm dining at Salt Bae's expensive restaurant in
London, reportedly during his trip to the
2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference. In the video, chef Gökçe is seen feeding Lâm a piece of gold-coated beef. It is unclear who paid for the meal, but according to international newspapers, the event sparked outrage among many Vietnamese netizens. They considered it a lavish meal, with the price of the gold-coated beef dish exceeding the minister's monthly salary, especially as
Vietnam was suffering heavily from the
COVID-19 pandemic, with millions of people facing difficulties. On social media, the hashtag "#saltbae" was blocked worldwide for a few days and was only accessible again on 9 November. Facebook did not provide a reason for the block and did not clarify whether the Vietnamese government requested the removal of the video content. Additionally, on 16 November 2021,
Bùi Tuấn Lâm, 39, a noodle vendor in
Đà Nẵng, was reportedly targeted by police after posting a video on his Facebook page in which he imitated Gökce's gesture. On 7 September 2022, Bùi Tuấn Lâm was arrested by multiple plainclothes police officers at his noodle stand. After a trial only lasting a day, Lam was sentenced to five-and-a half years in prison and four years of probation upon being released. According to
The Diplomat, despite the "gold steak" scandal, Lâm survived the initiated by General Secretary Trọng. This was largely because, as police chief, Lâm himself led much of the purge, exercising control over Vietnam's security apparatus and access to intelligence information, which enabled him to eliminate rivals and later become the country's most powerful leader. ==Leadership (2024–
present)==