Lê Văn Duyệt

Lê Văn Duyệt 黎文悅
Bronze statue of Lê Văn Duyệt in his tomb
Born	1763 or 1764 Định Tường, southern Vietnam
Died	3 July 1832 (aged 68) Gia Định (now Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam
Buried at	Tomb of Lê Văn Duyệt, Ho Chi Minh City
Allegiance	Nguyễn lords Nguyễn Dynasty
Years of service	1789–1832
Rank	General
Battles/wars	The Naval Battle of Thi Nai (1801)

Lê Văn Duyệt (1763 or 1764 – 3 July 1832) was a Vietnamese general who helped Nguyễn Ánh—the future Emperor Gia Long—put down the Tây Sơn rebellion, unify Vietnam and establish the Nguyễn Dynasty. After the Nguyễn came to power in 1802, Duyệt became a high-ranking mandarin, serving under the first two Nguyễn emperors Gia Long and Minh Mạng.

Born into a family of peasants near Tiền Giang, Duyệt joined Prince Nguyễn Ánh in fighting the Tây Sơn rebellion. Because of Duyệt's military ability, he quickly rose through the ranks of the Nguyễn army and became a marshal when the Tây Sơn-Nguyễn war ended. After the foundation of the Nguyễn Dynasty, Duyệt served as a high-ranking mandarin and, later, viceroy of the southern part of Vietnam.

His governance greatly stabilized and helped develop the southern third of Vietnam, turning it into a wealthy and peaceful region. In addition, Duyệt opposed Emperor Minh Mạng's ascension and defended Christian missionaries and converts from the emperor's isolationist and Confucian policies. These attitudes brought Duyệt into conflict with Minh Mạng and led to the posthumous desecration of Duyệt's tomb, which provoked his adopted son Lê Văn Khôi to revolt against the court. Later, Emperor Thiệu Trị, the successor of Minh Mạng, rehabilitated Duyệt and restored his tomb.

Lê Văn Duyệt was born in either 1763 or 1764 in Định Tường (present day Tiền Giang), a regional town in the Mekong Delta, in the far south of Vietnam. His parents were ordinary peasants whose ancestors came from Quảng Ngãi Province in central Vietnam during the southwards expansion of the Nguyễn Lords. Duyệt was born in a poor family, and he tended buffaloes during his childhood. Attracted by the possibilities of the "New South", the family then moved to Gia Định.