Al Hoang (born 1962) is a former member of the

Houston City Council The Houston City Council is a city council for the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. The Council has sixteen members: eleven from council districts and five elected at-large. The members of the Council are elected every four years, wi ...

. Prior to his election to that office, Hoang worked as a criminal defense lawyer.Snyder, Mike.
Records raise questions about councilman-elect
" ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...

''. December 23, 2009. Retrieved on August 7, 2014. "When he filed for office Aug. 18, Hoang listed his address as 4403 Bugle, in District F, and signed a notarized statement saying he had lived in the district for 13 months." He had previously served as a president of the Vietnamese Community of Houston and Vicinities (VNCH). He was the first

Vietnamese American Vietnamese Americans () are Americans of Vietnamese ancestry. They constitute a major part of all overseas Vietnamese. As of 2023, over 2.3 million people of Vietnamese descent live in the United States, making them the fourth largest Asian Ame ...

member of the city council.Moran, Chris.
District F councilman facing both political, legal fights
" ''

''. Sunday, October 9, 2011. Retrieved on August 7, 2014.

Biography

Hoang was born in

Phan Rang Phan may refer to: * Phan (surname), a Vietnamese family name * Phan District, Chiang Rai Province, Thailand * Phan River The Phan River () is a river of Bình Thuận Province, Vietnam.Vietnam Administrative Atlas, NXB Bản Đồ, 2004 It flo ...

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

on May 19, 1962. He was one of ten brothers and sisters, and his parents had originated from Nghệ An,

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...

but moved to South Vietnam in 1954.Al Hoang
(). Interview by Quynh Le (Houston Asian American Archives at Rice University Woodson Research Center). Published by

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

Chao Center for Asian Studies Houston Asian American Archive. p. 2/19. Retrieved on August 7, 2014. He came to the United States after the 1975

Fall of Saigon The fall of Saigon, known in Vietnam as Reunification Day (), was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by North Vietnam on 30 April 1975. As part of the 1975 spring offensive, this decisive event led to the collapse of the So ...

. His family initially settled in

Reading, Pennsylvania Reading ( ; ) is a city in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 95,112 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fourth-most populous ...

through Catholic church sponsorship. He lived in

Carthage, Missouri Carthage is a city in Jasper County, Missouri, United States. The population was 15,522 as of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Jasper County and is nicknamed "America's Maple Leaf City." History Jasper County was formed in 1841. ...

before ultimately moving to Houston. He attended the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

beginning in 1983 and studied Philosophy,Al Hoang
(). Interview by Quynh Le (Houston Asian American Archives at Rice University Woodson Research Center). Published by

Chao Center for Asian Studies Houston Asian American Archive. p. 1/19. Retrieved on August 7, 2014. graduating in 1989. In 1996 he received a

Jurist Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other jur ...

degree from the

Thurgood Marshall School of Law The Thurgood Marshall School of Law (TMSL) is the ABA-accredited law school of Texas Southern University, a historically Black public university in Houston, Texas. It awards Juris Doctor and Master of Law degrees. Thurgood Marshall School of L ...

Texas Southern University Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically Black university in Houston. The university is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund an ...

and began his law practices one year later.Al Hoang
(). Interview by Quynh Le (Houston Asian American Archives at Rice University Woodson Research Center). Published by

Chao Center for Asian Studies Houston Asian American Archive. p. 6/19. Retrieved on August 7, 2014. He became the president of Vietnamese Community of Houston & Vicinities in 2007.

Career

Hoang won the District F position after a November 3, 2009, election and a

runoff election The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...

against Mike Laster on December 12 of the same year. His scheduled swearing in date was January 4, 2010. In 2011, he had an election against Hoc Thai Nguyen. In 2013, Richard Nguyen defeated Hoang in the election for the District F seat. Mike Tolson of the ''

'' stated that animosity towards Hoang had built up among Vietnamese partly because he had made a trip to Vietnam, now under Communist rule, in 2010; older Vietnamese who fled after the

still had negative feelings towards the Communists.Tolson, Mike.
Council contender scores improbable upset
" ''

''. November 10, 2013. Retrieved on August 7, 2014. Tolson also stated that perceptions that Hoang acted in a condescending manner towards the Vietnamese community and unproven accusations had also damaged his standing. The ''Houston Chronicle'' editorial department had recommended Hoang's reelection for the 2013 City Council election.

Personal life

He is married to Hang Nguyen from 2009 to 2020. He resides in Pearland. In 2022, Al was reported by Vietnamese press that he bought an apartment in

Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

after he heard an advice from retired diplomat and former Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyễn Thanh Sơn.
Ðường về Tổ quốc của luật sư Hoàng Duy Hùng
" ''Công An TP.HCM''. August 19, 2022.

References

External links

* Kuffner, Charles.
Interview with CM Al Hoang
" "Kuff's World," ''

''. September 6, 2011. Retrieved on August 7, 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoang, Al Living people Houston City Council members American politicians of Vietnamese descent 1962 births University of Houston alumni Vietnamese emigrants to the United States People from Ninh Thuận province Texas Republicans