Duong Van Minh
(1916–2001), last president of the Republic of Vietnam. Duong Van Minh was born in 1916 in My Tho in the Mekong Delta. He received military training in France and in 1955 became an army officer in the Republic of Vietnam. Known as "Big Minh" because of his size (he was over six feet tall), he gained notoriety in 1956 when he captured Hoa Hao sect leader Ba Cut and had him publicly guillotined. Later that year, President Ngo Dinh Diem stripped him of military power by making him a "special adviser."
On 1 November 1963, Duong Van Minh headed the Revolutionary Military Council that ousted Ngo Dinh Diem (1901–1963) from power. The following day, Diem and his brother Nhu were assassinated, reportedly on Minh's orders. In January 1964, Minh was overthrown in a coup led by General Nguyen Kahn. In 1971, Minh ran for the presidency of the Republic of Vietnam but withdrew because he could not seriously challenge Nguyen Van Thieu (1923–2001).
In April 1975, President Thieu resigned and Vice President Tran Van Huong appointed Minh president. He was the Republic of Vietnam's last president. On 30 April 1975, he was arrested when North Vietnamese army forces marched into the presidential palace. In 1983, he immigrated to France.
Further Reading
Duiker, William. (1981) The Communist Road to Power in Vietnam. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Kahin, George McT. (1987) Intervention: How America Became Involved in Vietnam. New York: Anchor.
Karnow, Stanley. (1983) Vietnam: A History. New York: Viking.
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