Vietnam's Communist Party re-elected Nguyen Phu Trong as the general-secretary for a second term on Wednesday.
The conservative leader had faced a brief challenge from Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung initially at the party Congress. But Dung later withdrew from the contest, helping the strongman cement his power.
The Congress first elected Trong to the a 19-member Politburo, and then named him the general-secretary.
Communist party general secretary is the top leader in the country.
Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc was also elected to the politburo and he is expected to become the prime minister.
Minister of Public Security Tran Dai Quang will become the country's new president.
As a compromise with outgoing Prime Minister Dung's followers, Trong will not serve his full five-year term but may hand over power to another leader mid-way, the Associated Press reported.
Vietnam's over 9 million population does not directly take part in the election of their leaders. The all powerful communist party, which has more than 4 million members, reserves the right to choose the rulers.
The politburo is the all-powerful body and it decides he government's policies and controls the everyday activities of the government.
The general secretary, the prime minister, the president and the chairman of the National Assembly make for the four most important positions in government in Vietnam.
Analysts expect pro-China Trong to go ahead with economic reforms.
