The passing of Vietnam’s 80-year-old leader paves the way for a leadership contest at the 2026 National Party Congress

Thousands of Vietnamese citizens gathered to bid a final farewell to General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, the country’s most influential leader in years, ahead of his funeral and burial ceremonies.

The 80-year-old leader passed away last week in a Hanoi hospital. Having led the Communist Party since 2011, Trong orchestrated a notable anticorruption campaign that impacted the political, military, and business sectors of Vietnam.

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On Friday, mourners dressed in black lined the streets of Hanoi to pay their respects ahead of Trong’s burial at Mai Dich Cemetery – a site reserved for Vietnam’s most prominent figures.

Social media posts captured images of his funeral procession moving through the capital’s streets prior to the final burial.

Trong’s coffin, wrapped in Vietnam’s red and yellow flag, rested beneath a portrait of him smiling, adorned with numerous medals at Hanoi’s National Funeral House since Thursday.

Authorities reported over 210,000 people attended ceremonies to honor the late General Secretary in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and in his hometown near the capital.

Senior Communist Party members offered their respects, notably President To Lam, who assumed the interim role of general secretary just one day before announcing Trong’s passing.

Notable dignitaries attending Thursday’s service included South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Wang Huning, a high-ranking official from China’s Communist Party, Yoshihide Suga, former Prime Minister of Japan, and Cuban National Assembly President, Esteban Lazo Hernandez.

During the mourning period, flags across the nation flew at half-mast, and all entertainment and sports activities were temporarily halted.

Trong's tenure was marked by significant time in power, yet rights activists argue it also saw a rise in authoritarianism.

United States President Joe Biden earlier commended Trong as “a key advocate for stronger ties” between the U.S. and Vietnam, while Russian President Vladimir Putin honored him as a “valuable friend to Russia.”

Having studied in the Soviet Union from 1981 to 1983, Trong was historically the first Vietnamese Communist Party general secretary to visit the White House. He championed a flexible foreign policy he dubbed “bamboo diplomacy,” symbolizing the resilience and adaptability of bamboo in a changing global landscape.

Following his death, the stage is now set for a leadership contest at the upcoming 2026 National Congress of the Communist Party.