Trần Kim Phượng
Trần Kim Phượng | |
|---|---|
| South Vietnamese Ambassador to the United States | |
| In office 21 July 1972 – 21 May 1975 | |
| President | Nguyễn Văn Thiệu Trần Văn Hương Dương Văn Minh |
| Preceded by | Bùi Diễm |
| Succeeded by | Mission terminated |
| South Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia | |
| In office 1967–1970 | |
| President | Nguyễn Văn Thiệu |
| Preceded by | Nguyễn Văn Hiếu |
| Succeeded by | Đỗ Trọng Chu |
| South Vietnamese Ambassador to Malaysia | |
| In office 1964–1967 | |
| Preceded by | Tăng Văn Chỉ |
| Succeeded by | Nguyễn Duy Quang |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 November 1926 |
| Died | 1 April 2004 (aged 77) |
| Children | 2 |
Trần Kim Phượng (5 November 1926 – 1 April 2004) was the last ambassador of the Republic of Vietnam to the United States, serving from 1972 to the Fall of Saigon.
Biography
Early years
Trần Kim Phượng was born on 5 November 1926 in Hanoi, French Indochina.[1][2]
Studies
He studied agricultural science at the University of Paris and international relations in Sciences Po.[3]
Diplomatic career
In 1955, he served at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Deputy Director for Economic and Financial Affairs and from 1957 to 1959 he was First Secretary at the Washington Embassy and Special Representative to the International Cooperation Administration.[3]
He served as Chargé d'affaires to Malaysia from 1959 to 1964 and Ambassador to Malaysia from 1964 to 1967.[3]
He was Ambassador to Australia from 1967 to 1970, concurrently to New Zealand.[3]
He returned to Saigon and worked as Assistant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and then Vice-Minister until being appointed as Ambassador to the United States, presenting his credentials to President Richard Nixon on 21 July 1972.[3]
Exile
On 2 April 1975, before the end of South Vietnam, Trần Kim Phượng said during an interview that "It is fatal to be allies of the U.S.... This is a conclusion that people in the world would draw."[4][5][6][7][8]
After the Fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975, the South Vietnamese Embassy in the United States was closed on 21 May.[9]
After that Trần Kim Phượng lived in the United States until his death on 1 April 2004 in Potomac, Maryland.[10][11]
Family
Trần Kim Phượng was married and had 2 children.[1]
References
- ^ a b Embassy of the Republic of Vietnam in the United States of America (31 August 1972). Vietnam Bulletin. Vol. VII Number 16. pp. 5–6. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
- ^ Who's who in Vietnam (PDF). Saigon: Vietnam Press. 1974. p. 632. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Vietnam Bulletin. Embassy of Viet-Nam. 1971. pp. 4–6.
- ^ Vo, Nghia M. (31 August 2011). Saigon: A History. McFarland. p. 198. ISBN 978-0-7864-8634-2.
- ^ Dommen, Arthur J. (20 February 2002). The Indochinese Experience of the French and the Americans: Nationalism and Communism in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Indiana University Press. p. 921. ISBN 978-0-253-10925-5.
Therefore the experiences of the Vietnamese show very well what happened and I would think that the people around the world could draw only one possible conclusion. That is it is safer to be allies of the Communists and it looks like it is fatal to be allies of the U.S. I say that very coolly and not with any passion. But I think that it is a conclusion that people in the world would draw.
- ^ ISI (8 October 2014). "An Imperial Recessional: The "Domino Theory" Revisited". Intercollegiate Studies Institute. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
- ^ https://www.nytimes.com/1975/04/03/archives/rockefeller-perceives-little-us-can-do-now.html
- ^ https://time.com/archive/6851039/time-essay-how-should-americans-feel/
- ^ "Diplomatic Representation for Socialist Republic of Vietnam". U.S. Department of State Archive. 2007.
- ^ "Cựu Đại sứ Trần Kim Phượng từ trần, thọ 79 tuổi". Radio Free Asia (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 31 August 2022.
- ^ "Cựu Đại Sứ Trần Kim Phượng Từ Trần". vietbao.com (in Vietnamese). 3 April 2004.