Trần Văn Đỗ

In this Vietnamese name, the surname is Trần. In accordance with Vietnamese custom, this person should be referred to by the given name, Đỗ.

Trần Văn Đỗ
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Vietnam
In office 14 June 1965 – 17 May 1968
Prime Minister	Nguyễn Cao Kỳ Nguyễn Văn Lộc
Preceded by	Phạm Đăng Lâm
Succeeded by	Trần Chánh Thành
Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Vietnam
In office 16 February 1965 – 14 June 1965 Serving with Nguyễn Xuân Oánh
Prime Minister	Phan Huy Quát
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Vietnam
In office 6 July 1954 – 10 May 1955
Prime Minister	Ngô Đình Diệm
Preceded by	Nguyễn Quốc Định
Succeeded by	Vũ Văn Mẫu
Personal details
Born	(1903-11-15)15 November 1903 Phủ Lý, Tonkin, French Indochina
Died	20 December 1990(1990-12-20) (aged 87) Paris, France
Political party	Independent
Relatives	Trần Văn Thông (father) Trần Văn Chương (brother) Madame Nhu (niece) Trần Văn Khiêm (nephew)
Education	University of Paris (M.D.)

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 and South Vietnam as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister of South Vietnam. He was the younger brother of Trần Văn Chương, 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. 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, a public document, supported by many political factions of the South Vietnamese government condemning Diệm's government.

Early life

He was born on 15 November 1903 in Phủ Lý, Tonkin, French Indochina. He studied in France, obtained a medical doctor degree from the University of Paris.

Political career

He decided not to sign the Geneva Agreement 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 Ngô Đình Diệm'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.

In 1965, he served as Deputy Prime Minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Phan Huy Quát. After the premiership of Phan Huy Quát ended, he went on to serve as Minister of Foreign Affairs (1965-1968) under the premiership of Prime Ministers Nguyễn Cao Kỳ and Nguyễn Văn Lộc.

After the Fall of Saigon, he took asylum in France as a political refugee where lived quietly for the remainder of his life. He died on December 20, 1990, in Paris.