Hanoi  -   Nguyen Phu Trong, Vietnam’s most powerful contemporary leader and architect of the country’s largest anti-corruption campaign, died Friday at the age of 80, state media said. During Trong’s 13 years as general secretary of the Communist Party, thousands of people were arrested on corruption charges and a crackdown on dissidents and activists intensified in the one-party state. Trong was president from 2018-21 and served three consecutive terms as general secretary, the first to do so since the “doi moi” era of economic reform began in 1986. The unprecedented feat made him the most powerful leader in decades. Trong’s high-profile anti-corruption drive, which analysts say was also linked to political in-fighting, swept through the party, police, armed forces and business. More than 3,500 people have been indicted since 2021, official figures show, while those sent to prison include a former health minister and two previous mayors of Hanoi. Following a scandal related to the Covid-19 pandemic last year, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc resigned and two deputy prime ministers were removed from their positions. Many other prominent officials working across a wide range of sectors, from environment and energy to healthcare and banking, are under investigation. Trong would like to be remembered “as a populist, someone very close to the people, who listens to the people”, said Linh Nguyen, lead analyst for Control Risks on Vietnam.

But the campaign has had unintended consequences. With many fearful of being caught in its crosshairs, everyday transactions within business and the state apparatus have slowed.

According to Linh, “the campaign is enervating the economy, something that we can clearly see in economic growth over the past two to three years”.