Vietnam's parliament elected police minister To Lam as the state president on Wednesday, in a move analysts see as a "stepping stone" for Lam to bid later for the position of chief of the ruling Communist Party, the country's top job.
Lam's election followed the appointment on Monday by Vietnam's National Assembly of its new chairman, former deputy Tran Thanh Man, possibly bringing to a temporary end two-months of heightened political turbulence that saw the exit of three of Vietnam's top five leaders over unspecified wrongdoings.
In line with normal procedures in the tightly controlled one-party state, lawmakers voted unanimously on a resolution that approved Lam's election after a secret ballot about him, the only candidate for the job. That followed his nomination by the Communist Party last week.