Nguyễn Văn Huyền (9 December 1911 – 1995) was a Vietnamese lawyer and politician, who served as the last Vice President of South Vietnam in 1975.Hoàng Cơ Thụy. ''Việt sử khảo luận''. Paris: Nam Á, 2002. tr 3396 He took the position of Vice President from President Dương Văn Minh's request, who was trying to hold peace talks, but held the position for only 2 days before the fall of the Republic of Vietnam on 30 April 1975. He also served as the first President of the Senate of South Vietnam from 1967 to 1973. In the last years of his life, he was invited to join the

Vietnam Fatherland Front The Vietnamese Fatherland Front ( vi, Mặt trận Tổ quốc Việt Nam) is an umbrella group of mass movements in Vietnam aligned with the Communist Party of Vietnam forming the Vietnamese government. It was founded in February 1977 by the ...

of the unified

Socialist Republic of Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

and was elected as a member of its Central Committee's

Presidium A presidium or praesidium is a council of executive officers in some political deliberative assembly, assemblies that collectively administers its business, either alongside an individual President (government title), president or in place of one ...

, where he died in office in 1995.Hồi ký Lý Quý Chung
"Bà con hãy ở lại, quê hương của ta ở đây"
, Một Thế giới Online, Hội Thông tin Khoa học và Công nghệ Việt Nam.

Early life and career

He was born on 9 December 1911 in Sóc Trăng,

Tân Trụ district Tan or TAN may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Black and Tans, a nickname for British special constables during the Irish War of Independence. By extension "Tans" can now also colloquially refer to English or British people in general, es ...

, Long An province, from a long-standing intellectual

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

family with a high moral background. As a child, he studied in

Tân An Tân An is the capital city of Long An Province in Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. It was upgraded from town status to city status on 26 August 2009. The population of Tân An is 165,214 as of 2009, with an area of 81.79 km2. It comprises n ...

, then

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

. In the late 1920s, he went to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

to study abroad for a while. After returning home, he studied and graduated with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of ...

from the Law School of the

University of Indochina Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU; vi, Đại học Quốc gia Hà Nội, ĐHQGHN) is a public research university in Vietnam. The university has 10 member colleges (called "universities") and faculties. VNU is one of two Vietnam's nationa ...

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi i ...

. After practicing as a lawyer in

for a while, he opened his own law office and gradually became known for his defense cases for political defendants such as Hà Huy Tập (1940), Nguyễn Hữu Thọ, Nguyễn Văn Dưỡng, Phan Kiến Khương in the 1950 Peace Movement in Saigon. In the Peace Movement case in 1950, he withdrew from the Bar Association to protest, but still together with lawyers Lê Văn Hổ and Trương Đình Dzu received an unpaid defense for the "defendant" Nguyễn Hữu Thọ. Before the court, he asserted: "Mr. Thọ has great influence in the people. Mr. Thọ has used that influence to do what must be done" . After Ngô Đình Diệm announced the establishment of the

Republic of Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

and held the position of President, although he was a Catholic intellectual, he kept his attitude of non-cooperation with Ngô Đình Diệm's government to protest the political policy of the regime. Despite this, with his professional reputation as well as his reputation for ethics and integrity, he was still elected by the legal profession as the leader of the Bar Association. Besides, he also actively participates in Catholic movements independent of the government such as Vietnam Catholic Action Movement, Catholic Intellectual Movement (he also served as President of both movements). And was a member of the Vietnamese delegation to attend the Third International Conference of the Apostolate of the Laity (however he could not go at the last moment due to health reasons)

Political career

After the collapse of the First Republic government, he was invited to participate in the National Synod, participated in the drafting of the 20 October 1964 Covenant that handed over national sovereignty to the elected representative, replacing it. Provisional Charter 4 November 1963 which placed power in the hands of the military. However, the political scene of the Republic of Vietnam was constantly disturbed by coups and power struggles among generals. It was not until the political scene of the Republic of Vietnam stabilized with the 1967 civil election that he ran for the Senate in that year under the banner, "Common Public and Social Justice" partnership (also known as the Bông Huệ Alliance). After being elected as a Senator, with his prestige, he was elected as the first President of the Senate of the Republic of Vietnam. Initially, against both Ngô Đình Diệm's government and the military regime of General Nguyễn Khánh, he enthusiastically supported the civilian government of President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu. However, not long after, he soon changed his position and turned to oppose President Thiệu. He publicly strongly criticized President Thiệu's one-man election in the

1971 South Vietnamese presidential election Presidential elections were held in South Vietnam on 2 October 1971. After the opposition candidates Dương Văn Minh and Nguyễn Cao Kỳ withdrew their candidacies, incumbent President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu was the only candidate, receiving 10 ...

, as a result, Huyền's Senate bloc Bông Huệ was later blocked by Thiệu's government from running in the 1973 South Vietnamese Senate election. Thus, he forgo running for re-election and left the senate once his term expired in 1973.

Vice President of South Vietnam (1975)

In the years that followed, he was active in the Third Force, seeking a solution to end the war. Therefore, when President Trần Văn Hương transferred the presidency to General Dương Văn Minh with approval from the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

, he was invited by General Dương Văn Minh to accept the position of Vice President, with Huyền in charge of leading peace talks. On the morning of 28 April, he led a delegation consisting of him, Prime Minister Vũ Văn Mẫu and Brigadier General Nguyễn Hữu Hạnh to Camp Davies to meet with the military delegation of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam. At 3:00pm, he was officially sworn in as Vice President. At 7:00pm on the same day, he read a summons on

Radio Saigon Radio Saigon (also known as Radio Vietnam) was the official international broadcasting station of South Vietnam until April 1975. It was reorganized with a new name Voice of Ho Chi Minh City People's Radio after the Fall of Saigon. History In 1 ...

, reporting on negotiations with the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam and calling on civilians to respect the law, remain clam, and avoid panic. The army and police forces were ordered to keep order by Huyền. The army and police were able to maintain civility and deterred potential robbers and looters.Vũ Ánh, ''30 tháng 4, 75 và cụ Nguyễn Văn Huyền''. The following morning, 29 April, he sent another delegation consisting of 4 people, Mr. Nguyễn Văn Diệp (General Manager), Nguyễn Văn Hạnh (contractor), Tô Văn Cang (engineer), Nguyễn Đình Đầu (engineer), to enter Camp Davies to meet with the delegation of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam to further discuss about a ceasefire and a coalition government. The result of the meeting was unsuccessful because the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam was completely sure of a victory. Therefore, he decided to submit to President Dương Văn Minh a draft statement "Accepting the Ceasefire Conditions of the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam." Co-written by Mr. Nguyễn Văn Diệp and Mr. Nguyễn Đình Đầu, with the aim of avoiding unnecessary bloodshed. President Dương Văn Minh approved and he published this version on

at 5:00pm on 29 April. On 30 April, at 6 a.m., he, together with President Dương Văn Minh, Prime Minister Vũ Văn Mẫu and some members of the cabinet, had a meeting and decided not to further engage in combat, rather handing over the government to the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam to avoid further unnecessary bloodshed out in the streets. All were present at the palace until the Liberation Army soldiers entered the Independence Palace.

Post-Fall of Saigon and later life

After 30 April 1975, Huyền, like other members of General Dương Văn Minh's government, was not sent to re- education but remained under house arrest. Although some were later allowed to go abroad, he remained in Vietnam and lived quietly in

Ho Chi Minh City , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

. He was once invited to join the Ho Chi Minh City Fatherland Front, the Central Fatherland Front, but he declined due to poor health. Until the last years of his life, he accepted an invitation from his old friend Nguyễn Hữu Thọ to join the Vietnam Fatherland Front, and with the introduction from Nguyễn Hữu Thọ, he was elected a member of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front. He died in 1995 in Ho Chi Minh City.

Personal life

Lawyer Nguyễn Văn Huyền is considered a member of the Third Force, a group of intellectuals living and working under the

regime. A devout

, he was known as a virtuous and honest man, who, despite being in high positions of power, still lived an ascetic life. Throughout his political career, he has not been involved in any financial or political ethics scandals or mistreated his colleagues or dissidents. Therefore, although he has a gentle personality, he still has a great reputation and influence on those around him. ::"''Mr. Huyền is not a Communist but a religious person and a good person. When the Pope called for peace, Mr. Huyền aimed to end the war and restore peace. By 1975, Dương Văn Minh established the government and invited Mr. Huyền to be the Vice President in charge of peace talks.''" - Researcher Nguyễn Đình Đầu Nhà nghiên cứu Nguyễn Đình Đầu: Người Việt Nam không chia rẽ
Báo Thanh Niên Online ::''"You are a patriotic intellectual. I always thought that you cannot leave your country.''" - Lawyer Nguyễn Hữu Thọ, former acting President of the

"Luật sư Nguyễn Hữu Thọ - Người con tận trung với nước, tận hiếu với dân" của Nhà xuất bản Chính trị quốc gia, 1998, tr.390

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nguyen, Van Huyen 1911 births 1995 deaths South Vietnamese politicians Members of the National Assembly (South Vietnam) Vietnamese politicians