Trần Văn Hữu

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Trần Văn Hữu (* 1896 in Vinh Long ; † January 17, 1984 in Paris ) was a Vietnamese politician. He served as Prime Minister of the pro-French client state during the Indochina War . After the founding of the Republic of Vietnam , he retired in France.

Origin and career

Tran Van Huu came from a wealthy family of landowners in Vinh Long Province in Cochinchina . He received his secondary education at the Lycée Chasseloup Laubat in Saigon . He then studied agricultural engineering with a specialization in the tropics in Tunisia and France. In 1925 he received French citizenship and, after completing his studies, joined the colonial administration. From 1915 to 1929 he worked as an agricultural engineer. In 1929 he switched to the colony's finance department. He himself became a major landowner in Cochinchina and an influential figure in the colony's upper class.

He married a French national of Vietnamese origin.

Political activity

In 1935 he stood for election to the Colonial Council of Cochinchina. In 1939 he joined the Indochinese Democratic Party (Dang Dan Chu). According to reports from the colonial authorities, he did not cooperate with either the Japanese or the Viet Minh during World War II .

After the Second World War, Tran Van Huu was one of the politicians with whom the French Governor General Georges Thierry d'Argenlieu wanted to build a pro-French Cochinchina that was separated from the north. As a result, he was appointed Finance Minister of the Colony's Provisional Government in 1946. In 1947 he was also appointed vice president. In 1948 he became governor of Cochinchina. Tran Van Huu campaigned for a pro-French client state in Vietnam under the leadership of Emperor Bao Dai . With the establishment of the state of Vietnam as part of the Union française , Tran Van Huu became Prime Minister and took part in this function at the Pau Conference, where he called for more independence for the states of the Union. During his reign he was given special powers by Bao Dai to combat the Viet Minh guerrillas operating under Nguyễn Bình in South Vietnam .

Tran Van Huu ended his political career after he was replaced as Prime Minister by Nguyen Van Tam . His removal was requested by the French side after Tran Van Huu tried to weaken the French position by moving closer to the United States . After the rise of Ngo Dinh Diem , he left Vietnam in 1955 and settled in France. During the Vietnam War , he campaigned for a diplomatic solution to the conflict and called for the neutralization of Vietnam and negotiations with the Viet Minh.

He died in the Val-de-Grâce military hospital in Paris in 1984.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Bruce L. Lockhart, William J. Duiker: Historical Dictionary of Vietnam . Oxford 2006, p. 384
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g Christopher E. Goscha: Historical Dictionary of the Indochina War (1945–1954) . Copenhagen 2011, p. 462 f.
personal data
SURNAME Trần, Văn Hữu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Vietnamese, Francophone politician
DATE OF BIRTH 1896
PLACE OF BIRTH Vĩnh Long (Province)
DATE OF DEATH 17th January 1984
Place of death Paris