Who is duong van minh

He was a Buddhist. He went to Saigon where he attended a top French colonial school, where King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia had also studied. He began his military career in the s when he joined the French colonial army. He was one of only 50 Vietnamese officers to be commissioned. In he joined the new South Vietnamese military. In he defeated the armed religious sect, Hoa Hao, that threatened the South Vietnamese regime, and the drug-dealing pirate organization Binh Xuyen.

This got him the respect of the United States, and Minh was then sent there to study, where he attended the U.

He was a military adviser to president Ngo Dinh Diem from to When he took power, Minh was an American favorite, playing tennis and sharing war stories with Gen. Maxwell Taylor, then U. Minh is said to have preferred playing mah-jongg and giving tea parties to fighting the Viet Cong or running the country.

His military junta lasted only a couple of months before it was overthrown by General Nguyen Khanh on January 30, Duong Van Minh went into exile in Bangkok, Thailand. He still had many American friends, particularly in the CIA, who gave him support during this period, including paying for his dentist bills.

He gained an early reputation for bravery, honesty, and leadership in the field and quickly rose to national prominence. In his later career, however, power remained just beyond his reach and he was eventually forced into exile.

After graduating from a high school run by the French, Minh enlisted in the colonial army in and was commissioned a second lieutenant. At that point he joined a resistance group which was soon quashed. The young officer was taken prisoner for two months and tortured, having half of his teeth knocked out.

For the rest of his life, his gold tooth-lined grin would be his trademark. Standing 5 foot 10 inches tall and athletic, he developed a pronounced stoop, supposedly from constantly leaning over to talk to his shorter companions. Minh was known fondly as "Beo" fat boy to his fellow soldiers.

Americans later dubbed him "Big Minh" to distinguish him from another South Vietnamese official by the same name. After his release by the Japanese, Minh returned immediately to the French, but was imprisoned for joining the resistance. He was jailed for an additional three months, this time in a crowded dark cell with no toilet. Driven nearly to insanity by the subhuman prison conditions, Minh won his freedom with the help of another prisoner, Nguyen Ngoc Tho, who would later become the premier of his country.

Minh's nationalist spirit grew during his incarceration, but he agreed upon release to serve the French for another four years under the puppet government of Emperor Bao Dai. When a Vietnamese army was created in , two years before independence, Minh jumped at the chance to join. By the end of the French war against the Vietnamese nationalists, Minh was commander of the Saigon-Cholon garrison. Minh went to work for Diem's new regime, first earning the gratitude of his people in by vanquishing a gangster syndicate and later pacifying two religious cults.

Minh distinguished himself by his respect for these sects' temples, even while giving no quarter to their fighters. His actions would put him in sharp contrast years later Diem, who showed no such regard when attacking Buddhist dissidents.

After his success in these campaigns, Minh was sent for yet more training at the U. Upon his return, Diem chose Minh in to become the first commander of field operations in the developing war against Viet Cong guerrillas.

Minh's success and popularity with his troops would later prove his downfall in Diem's eyes, however. As dissatisfaction among Vietnam's generals mounted, the president grew suspicious of Minh's loyalty. Though not openly critical of Diem, Minh privately questioned the wisdom of fighting a war against the communists without greater popular support in South Vietnam. Finally, Diem removed Minh's command and named him military advisor to the president.

This effectively removed Minh from any direct power in the army and gave Diem a fleeting sense of security. Diem became more erratic, tyrannical, and dangerously detached from his people in the early s. Rumors circulated that he was secretly negotiating with Ho Chi Minh's North Vietnam to unify the country and declare neutrality.

United States support, critical to Diem's survival, grew thin. There were whispers of a coup, and Minh seemed a logical choice to lead it, but the general insisted he had no stomach for politics but was content to play tennis, read French and American magazines, and tend to his orchid garden.

Minh was then sent to study, despite his poor English, at the U. Leavenworth, Kan. When he took power, Minh was an American favorite, playing tennis and sharing war stories with Gen. Maxwell Taylor, then U.

But the dilatory Minh preferred playing mah-jongg and giving tea parties to fighting with the Viet Cong or administering his troubled nation. He was easily ousted by Nguyen Khanh and exiled to Thailand in There Minh retained many American friends, particularly in the CIA, which picked up the check for his new teeth. Minh returned the favors by writing a fairly hawkish article about Vietnam for the respected Foreign Affairs quarterly in , condemning the Viet Cong and disparaging any possible coalition government with the Communists.

Saying the election was rigged, Minh withdrew and Thieu was elected without opposition. But from then on, Minh was considered the titular leader of the opposition third force. The Hanoi regime carefully avoided either endorsing or condemning Minh, whose brother, Duong Van Nhut, was a leading North Vietnamese army general. His all-around likability, after all, was partly based on his well-earned reputation for indecisiveness, which led all groups to feel they could control him.

In addition to his daughter, Minh is survived by two sons who live in Paris, and several grandchildren. All Sections.