Tô Lâm

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 (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.

Tô Lâm
Tô Lâm in 2022
Minister of Public Security
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 April 2016
Prime Minister	Nguyễn Xuân Phúc Phạm Minh Chính
Preceded by	Trần Đại Quang
Secretary of the Central Police Party Committee
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 May 2016
Preceded by	Trần Đại Quang
Head of Central Highlands Steering Committee
Incumbent
Assumed office 31 July 2016
Preceded by	Trần Đại Quang
Member of the Politburo
Incumbent
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 (age 66) Hung Yen Province, North Vietnam
Political party	Communist Party
Alma mater	People’s Security Academy
Awards	Military Exploit Order
Military service
Allegiance	Vietnam
Branch/service	Vietnam People's Public Security
Years of service	1974–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, which showed 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 a wreath at the tomb of Karl Marx.

In the clip, Gökçe feeds Tô a piece of gold-plated steak and then gives 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 caused outrage among Vietnamese internet users as the dinner took place when the majority of Vietnamese were 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][verification needed]}

Despite attracting much attention from the international media, the Vietnamese press did not mention the event. On Facebook, the hashtag #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, Bui Tuan Lam, 39, a local noodle vendor living in Đà Nẵng was repeatedly targeted by police after posting a video on his personal Facebook page in which he imitated the gesture of chef Nusret Gökce.^{[12][13][14][15]}

On the evening of September 7, 2022, Bui Tuan Lam was arrested by multiple plainclothes police officers at his noodle stand. ^[16] 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.^[17]

Awards

•   Vietnam: Military Exploit Order 3rd class
•   Vietnam: Military Exploit Order 1st class

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. 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. 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. 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.
16. "VN: 'Thánh rắc hành' Bùi Tuấn Lâm bị bắt, gia đình nói gì?". BBC News Tiếng Việt (in Vietnamese). 2022-09-08. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
17. "Salt Bae parody: Vietnam noodle vendor jailed for five years". BBC News. 2023-05-25. Retrieved 2023-11-21.

Political offices
Preceded by Trần Đại Quang	Minister of Public Security 2016–present	Incumbent