Nguyen Khanh
| Nguyễn Khánh | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| President of South Vietnam | |
|
In office 1964 |
|
| Preceded by | Dương Văn Minh |
| Succeeded by | Phan Khắc Sửu |
| Prime Minister of South Vietnam | |
|
In office 1964 |
|
| Preceded by | Nguyễn Ngọc Thơ |
| Succeeded by | Trần Văn Hương |
| Government of Free Vietnam | |
|
In office 2005–2013 |
|
| Preceded by | Nguyễn Hữu Chánh |
| Succeeded by | Vacant |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 8, 1927 Trà Vinh, French Indochina (now Trà Vinh, Vietnam) |
| Died | January 11, 2013 (aged 85) San Jose, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | South Vietnamese |
| Spouse(s) | Madame Khánh |
| Children | 6 children, 1 stepdaughter |
| Alma mater | French School |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 State of Vietnam South Vietnam
|
| Years of service | 1950–1965 |
| Rank |
 General (Đại tướng)
|
| Commands |
|
| Battles/wars | |
Nguyễn Khánh (November 8, 1927 – January 11, 2013) was a South Vietnamese military officer and Army of the Republic of Vietnam general who served in various capacities as head of state and prime minister of South Vietnam while at the head of a military junta from January 1964 until February 1965. He was involved in or against many coup attempts, failed and successful, from 1960 until his defeat and exile from South Vietnam in 1965. Khánh lived out his later years with his family, in exile in the United States, and died of pneumonia and end-stage renal failure at a hospital in San Jose, California, on January 11, 2013.
Khánh was born in Trà Vinh in the Mekong Delta region in the far south of Vietnam. His mother was a property manager in the Central Highlands resort town of Đà Lạt, and lived away from the family home in the deep south. Khánh's father was a wealthy landlord who lived in the Mekong Delta with a mistress, the popular cải lương performer Phùng Há. Khánh was brought up by his de facto stepmother. Trà Vinh is a border town near Cambodia and the family moved between both countries. Khánh began his education in Cambodia and when he grew up, he moved to Saigon to study at an elite French school, boarding with wealthy relatives.
In 1945, Khánh finished his secondary studies and he and around 20 fellow high school graduates left Saigon to join the communist-dominated Việt Minh, led by Hồ Chí Minh, which sought to gain independence from French colonialism. The August Revolution had just occurred and Hồ had declared independence from France in the aftermath of World War II in September under the newly proclaimed Democratic Republic of Vietnam. In his early military years, Khánh came across many other young recruits who would rise up the ranks alongside him and variously become allies and bitter rivals. One of Khánh's Việt Minh instructors was his future enemy Phạm Ngọc Thảo, who later joined the anti-communist forces while remaining a Việt Minh agent. Khánh's unit became the 410th Battalion and went on to fight near Cà Mau, the southernmost part of Vietnam. They started with only pieces of bamboo and had to capture or steal their weapons.
...
Wikipedia