Trần Văn Đỗ (; 15 November 1903 – 20 December 1990) was a South Vietnamese intellectual and politician who served in both the governments of the

State of Vietnam The State of Vietnam (; chữ Hán: 國家越南; ) was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1949 until 1955, first as an associated state of the French Union and later as an independent state (from 20 July 1954 to 26 October 1955). The s ...

and

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 ...

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

and

Deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

Prime Minister of South Vietnam. He was the younger brother of

Trần Văn Chương Trần Văn Chương (; 2 June 1898 – 24 July 1986) was South Vietnam's ambassador to the United States from 1954 to 1963 and the father of the country's '' de facto'' first lady, Madame Nhu (1924–2011). He was also the foreign minister of t ...

, who served as the South Vietnamese ambassador to the United States in the early 1960s under the government of South Vietnam's first President

Ngô Đình Diệm Ngô Đình Diệm ( , or ; ; 3 January 1901 – 2 November 1963) was a South Vietnamese politician who was the final prime minister of the State of Vietnam (1954–1955) and later the first president of South Vietnam ( Republic of ...

. He was also the uncle of then South Vietnam's First Lady Trần Lệ Xuân, commonly known as Madame Nhu. He was an outspoken critic of the Diệm's government, and in 1960, he was one of the main drafters of the

Caravelle Manifesto The Caravelle Manifesto, also referred to as the Manifesto of the Eighteen, was written in April 1960, as a public critique of the South Vietnamese government under President Ngô Đình Diệm. The "manifesto" of grievances included the Diệm re ...

, a public document, supported by many political factions of the South Vietnamese government, demanding reform within Diệm's government.

Biography

Early life

He was born on 15 November 1903 in

Phủ Lý Phủ Lý is the capital city of Hà Nam Province of Vietnam 60 km south of Hanoi on the Day River, river Đáy. History Phủ Lý was taken by the French gunboat, canonnière ''l'Espingole'' and 28 men captained by Adrien-Paul Balny d'Avricourt ...

Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, including both the ...

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...

. He studied in France, obtained a medical doctor degree from the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

Political career

He decided not to sign the

Geneva Agreement The Agreement to Resolve the Controversy between Venezuela and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland over the Frontier between Venezuela and British Guiana, better known as the Geneva Agreement, is a treaty between Venezue ...

because he did not accept the division of Vietnam and on behalf of the Vietnamese National Delegation issued a separate statement: "...the Vietnamese government requests the Conference to officially acknowledge that Vietnam solemnly opposes the signing of the Agreement and its provisions that do not respect the deep aspirations of the Vietnamese people. Request the Conference to acknowledge that the Government grants itself the right to complete freedom of action to protect the sacred rights of the Vietnamese people in the process of realizing Unification, Independence, and Freedom for the country." He was then appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, but after only one year, withdrew in 1955. During the First Republic, he opposed President

's policies. He was one of 18 members of the Caravelle group to sign the petition, also known as the Caravelle Declaration to Ngô Đình Diệm, demanding government reform in April 1960.Tướng Minh và Đệ Nhất Cộng hòa
/ref> In 1965, he served as Deputy Prime Minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister

Phan Huy Quát Phan Huy Quát (; 12 June 1908 – 27 April 1979) was a South Vietnamese doctor and politician who served as Prime Minister of the Republic of Vietnam for four months in 1965. Early life Phan Huy Quát was born in Lộc Hà District in Hà T� ...

and Minister of Foreign Affairs. After the premiership of Phan Huy Quát ended, he stepped down as Deputy Prime Minister, but continue on to serve as Minister of Foreign Affairs (1965–1968) under the premiership of Prime Ministers

Nguyễn Cao Kỳ Nguyễn Cao Kỳ (; 8 September 1930 – 23 July 2011) was a South Vietnamese military officer and politician who served as the chief of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force in the 1960s, before leading the nation as the prime minister of Sout ...

and Nguyễn Văn Lộc.

Life in exile

After the

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 ...

, he took asylum in France as a

political refugee The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, such as a second country or another enti ...

where lived quietly for the remainder of his life. He died on 20 December 1990, in Paris.

Honour

Foreign honour

* : ** Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of the Crown of Thailand The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand (; ) is a Thai order, established in 1869 by King Rama V of The Kingdom of Siam (now Thailand) for Thais, the royal family, governmental employees, and foreign dignitaries for their outstanding serv ...

(1965)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tran, Van Do 1903 births 1990 deaths South Vietnamese politicians 20th-century Vietnamese diplomats Foreign relations of South Vietnam Vietnamese anti-communists Vietnamese exiles Vietnamese emigrants to France People from Hà Nam province