Bao Dai
(1913–1997), last of the Nguyen emperors of Vietnam. Bao Dai was born Nguyen Phuc Vinh Thuy. Educated in France, he was crowned emperor on 8 January 1926, took the name Bao Dai ("Protector of Grandeur" or "Keeper or Preserver of Greatness"), and moved back to France at the request of the French. In 1932 the French government allowed him to return to Vietnam, where he attempted a series of reforms in the hope of establishing a modern imperial government and of convincing French officials to allow limited Vietnamese independence under his rule. France rebuffed his attempts, and the emperor settled into a lifestyle characterized by gambling, hunting, and women. During World War II, Bao Dai cooperated with the Japanese and, at their urging, proclaimed the "Empire of Vietnam," independent from France.
When the Communist-led Viet Minh took control during the August Revolution in 1945 after the Japanese withdrawal, Bao Dai abdicated his throne, became known as First Citizen Vinh Thuy, and served in the new Viet Minh legislature. Disillusioned with the Communists, Bao Dai left Vietnam in 1946 and eventually returned to Europe. After signing the Elysée Agreements with French President Vincent Auriol on 8 March 1949, Bao Dai returned to Vietnam as head of state. He ruled Vietnam (within the French Union) through the 1954 Geneva Accords that ended the 1946–1954 war between France and Vietnam and retained his position during the first year of the new Republic of Vietnam (RVN). His administration was marked by the institutionalization of corruption, prostitution, smuggling, racketeering, and drug trafficking through his association with the Binh Xuyen gang in Saigon. After losing an election rigged in favor of Ngo Dinh Diem in 1955, Bao Dai eventually left the country and spent the majority of the rest of his life in France.
Further Reading
Currey, Cecil B. (1994) "Bao Dai: The Last Emperor." Viet
Nam Generation 6, 1–2: 199–206.
Jamieson, Neil L. (1993) Understanding Vietnam. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
Emperor Bao Dai relaxes in Paris in April 1954. (BETTMANN/ CORBIS)Tucker, Spencer C. (1999) Vietnam. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky.
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