South Vietnamese doctor and politician (1919–2017)
In this
Vietnamese name, the
surname is
Nguyễn, but is often simplified to
Nguyen in English-language text. In accordance with Vietnamese custom, this person should be referred to by the
given name,
Viên.
Nguyễn Lưu Viên (21 November 1919[1] – 18 September 2017) was a South Vietnamese doctor and politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of South Vietnam under various prime ministers. He also served as Minister of Internal Affairs of South Vietnam under Prime Ministers Nguyễn Khánh and Trần Văn Hương.
Biography
He was born on 21 November 1919 to a wealthy family in Trà Vinh province. He earned his M.D. at the Hanoi Medical University[2] and worked as a doctor prior to entering politics.[3]
Fall of Saigon and life in exile
As South Vietnam was on the verge of collapsing to the advancing forces of North Vietnam Viên left for Guam on 29 April, a day before the government of General Dương Văn Minh announced South Vietnam's surrender on 30 April 1975 to the Communist regime.[4] After arriving in Guam, Viên was then relocated to Camp Pendleton along with other Vietnamese refugees.[5][6] Afterward, Viên decided to further his studies in Oklahoma before deciding to relocate to Union City, Tennessee where he worked as a doctor at Baptist Memorial Hospital for 11 years.[7][8] In 1988, he retired and then relocated to Virginia where he would live out the remainder of his life.
He died at his home at the age of 97 in Springfield, Virginia on 18 September 2017.[9]
References