Tô Lâm

Tô Lâm (born 10 July 1957) is a Vietnamese politician, who has been Minister of Public Security of Vietnam since 9 April 2016. Tô Lâm is a member of the 12th Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam having previously served as Deputy Minister of Public Security.[1] Tô Lâm became a member of the Communist Party of Vietnam on 22 August 1981.

In this Vietnamese name, the surname is Tô, but is often simplified to To in English-language text. In accordance with Vietnamese custom, this person should be referred to by the given name, Lâm.
Tô Lâm
Tô Lâm in 2022
Minister of Public Security
Assumed office
9 April 2016
Prime MinisterNguyễn Xuân Phúc
Phạm Minh Chính
Preceded byTrần Đại Quang
Secretary of the Central Police Party Committee
Assumed office
4 May 2016
Preceded byTrần Đại Quang
Head of Central Highlands Steering Committee
Assumed office
31 July 2016
Preceded byTrần Đại Quang
Member of the Politburo
Assumed office
27 January 2016
Deputy Minister of Public Security
In office
12 August 2010 – 7 April 2016
Personal details
Born (1957-07-10) 10 July 1957
Hung Yen Province, North Vietnam
Political partyCommunist Party
Alma materPeople’s Security Academy
Awards Military Exploit Order
Military service
Allegiance Vietnam
Branch/serviceVietnam People's Public Security
Years of service1974–present
Rank Police General

Childhood

Tô Lâm was born on 10 July 1957 in Hung Yen Province, Vietnam.

Early career

He attended the People's Police School in 1974. From October 1974 to October 1979: Student at the People’s Security Academy

October 1979 – December 1988: Working at the Political Protection Department I, the Ministry of Public Security

December 1988 – 1993: Cadre; Deputy Chief of the Political Protection Department I; the Ministry of Public Security

1993-2006: Deputy Director of the Political Protection Department I, Director of the Political Protection Department III, the Ministry of Public Security;

2006-2009: Deputy Director of the General Security Department, Permanent Deputy Director of the General Security Department in charge of the Political Protection Department I, the Ministry of Public Security; appointed as Major-general in 2007

2009 – August, 2010: Director of the General Security Department I, the Ministry of Public Security; appointed as Lieutenant-General in July, 2010

August 2010 – January 2016: Deputy Minister of Public Security; a member of the Party Central Committee (at the 11th Party Congress)

June 4, 2011: To Lam was appointed as the new Secretary of the Central Police Party Committee

September 16, 2014: The Minister of Public Security, Lieutenant General To Lam, was promoted to the rank of Colonel General by President Truong Tan Sang [2]

January 2016 – April 2016: Senior Lieutenant-General/Colonel General; Deputy Minister of Public Security; a member of the Politburo

April 27, 2016: He was appointed Vice Chairman of the Central Steering Committee on Anti-corruption by President Tran Dai Quang [3]

July 31, 2016: He was appointed Head of Central Highlands Steering Committee, replacing Tran Dai Quang

July 27, 2016 – present: Member of the Politburo; Head of Central Highlands Steering Committee, Minister of Public Security, Vice Chairman of the Central Steering Committee on Anti-corruption [4]

January 29, 2019: The Minister of Public Security, Colonel General To Lam, was promoted to the rank of General by President Nguyen Phu Trong [5]

Controversies

In November 2021, a video was posted on the TikTok account of celebrity chef Nusret Gökçe, widely known by his nickname Salt Bae, shows Tô and his entourage dining at Gökçe's Nusr-Et Steakhouse in London after attending the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow and laying wreath at the tomb of Karl Marx. In the clip, he was also seen personally putting a piece of gold-plated steak by the chef in his mouth and then giving a thumbs-up. The video was deleted from Gökçe’s TikTok account just 30 minutes after a Vietnamese activist shared it on his Facebook page. The event has caused outrage among Vietnamese netizens as the feast took place when the majority of the Vietnamese population are struggling with a months-long economic shutdown as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Many also wondered how Tô could afford a steak that costs 1,450 pounds ($1,975) on a monthly salary of roughly $660.[6][7][8][9][10]

Despite attracting much attention from the international media, the Vietnamese press did not mention this event. On Facebook, the keyword #saltbae was blocked for a few days worldwide, and it was only accessible on November 9. Facebook did not state the reason for the block and did not say whether or not the Vietnamese government had requested them to do so.[11] On November 16, 2021, a citizen living in Đà Nẵng was repeatedly summoned by the police for unknown reasons after posting a video on his personal Facebook page - in which he imitated the gesture of chef Nusret Gökce.[12][13][14][15]

Awards

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tô Lâm.
  1. "Party Congress announces CPVCC Politburo members". Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. 19 January 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  2. "To Lam was promoted to the rank of Colonel General". Hoang Anh. 17 September 2014.
  3. "He was appointed Vice Chairman of the Central Steering Committee on Anti-corruption". Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. 17 April 2016.
  4. "Biography of To Lam". Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. 9 April 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  5. "To Lam was promoted to the rank of General". Hoàng Thùy. 29 January 2019.
  6. "Vietnamese find top cop's pricey London steak dinner hard to stomach". Radio Free Asia. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  7. "Vietnamese minister criticised over 'Salt Bae' gold-plated steak dinner". BBC. 5 November 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  8. "Vietnamese minister fed £1,450 gold-plated steak after laying flowers at Karl Marx's grave". The Independent. 8 November 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  9. "Vietnamese upset over video of Salt Bae feeding gold-leaf steak to security minister". ABC News (Australia). 5 November 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  10. Chen, Heather (8 November 2021). "A Communist Delegation Went to Karl Marx's Grave, Then Were Fed Gold Steak by Salt Bae". Vice. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  11. James, Pearson (9 November 2021). "Exclusive: Facebook unblocks '#saltbae' after Vietnamese minister's golden steak". Reuters. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  12. James Pearson (2021-11-17). Petty, Martin (ed.). "Vietnam police summon noodle seller after 'Salt Bae' parody video". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2021-11-17. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  13. "Đà Nẵng: Dân bị công an triệu tập sau khi bắt chước "thánh rắc muối"". Radio Free Asia. 2021-11-16. Archived from the original on 2021-11-17. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  14. "Đà Nẵng: Bắt chước 'thánh rắc muối', công an triệu tập, báo tiếng Anh đưa tin". BBC Vietnamese. 2021-11-18. Archived from the original on 2021-11-18. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  15. "Vietnam noodle seller summoned by police after imitating 'Salt Bae'". The Independent. 2021-11-17.
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