To Lam: Vietnam's Secret Policeman Turned Reformist Leader

A former security enforcer who has turned his axe on red tape, Vietnam's top leader To Lam is a classical music lover with a sometimes controversial taste for fine steak. In just 17 months as general secretary of the ruling Communist Party he has swept aside rivals and centralized authority in an aggressive reform drive, and is seeking more power at a party congress next week. Diplomats and analysts describe the 68-year-old as a skilled political operator and calculated risk-taker whose biggest bets have paid off.