Prince Nguyễn Phúc Bửu Lộc (; 22 August 1914 – 27 February 1990), was an uncle of Emperor

Bảo Đại Bảo Đại (, vi-hantu, , , 22 October 191331 July 1997), born Nguyễn Phúc (Phước) Vĩnh Thụy (), was the 13th and final emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last ruling dynasty of Vietnam. From 1926 to 1945, he was ''de jure'' em ...

, and Prime Minister 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 ...

in 1954.Oscar Chapuis. ''The Last Emperors of Vietnam: From Tu Duc to Bao Dai'', Praeger: 2000 p. 157 (Hardcover ), "On January 11, 1954, abstention of prominent politicians led Bao Dai to name his own cousin Prince Buu Loc prime minister. Buu Loc lasted only six months. On March 3, he led a delegation to Paris ..." He was a great-great-grandson of Emperor

Minh Mạng Minh Mạng (), also known as Minh Mệnh (, vi-hantu, 明命, lit. "the bright favour of Heaven"; 25 May 1791 – 20 January 1841; born Nguyễn Phúc Đảm, also known as Nguyễn Phúc Kiểu), was the second emperor of the Nguyễ ...

, the second emperor of the

Nguyễn dynasty The Nguyễn dynasty (, chữ Nôm: 茹阮, chữ Hán: 朝阮) was the last List of Vietnamese dynasties, Vietnamese dynasty, preceded by the Nguyễn lords and ruling unified Vietnam independently from 1802 until French protectorate in 1883 ...

. Both his great-grandfather ( Nguyễn Phúc Miên Trinh) and grandfather ( Nguyễn Phúc Hường Thiết) were distinguished poets during the reign of Nguyễn dynasty. He later emigrated to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and spent his life there until his death in 1990.

Early life

In his youth, he attended high school in Lycée Albert-Sarraut,

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

and later studied Law at the

University of Montpellier The University of Montpellier () is a public university, public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous opera ...

Career

He was Bảo Đại's Chief of Staff in 1948, then appointed the special representative of the

to the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

. In April 1949, he re-affirmed Vietnam's sovereignty over the

Paracel Islands The Paracel Islands, also known as the Xisha Islands () and the Hoàng Sa Archipelago (), are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea and currently controlled by the People's Republic of China. The word ''paracel'' is of Portuguese origi ...

. In 1951, he was the president of the Royal Society in Paris and the High Representative of Vietnam in France. Later, Chief of State Bảo Đại appointed him Minister of the Interior of the State of Vietnam. On 17 December 1953, when Prime Minister Nguyễn Văn Tâm submitted his resignation, Bửu Lộc was assigned to form a new cabinet. On 11 January 1954, Bảo Đại issued Decree No. 4/CP approving the new cabinet list. Prince Bửu Lộc then served as Prime Minister from 11 January to 16 June 1954. On 4 June 1954, he signed an agreement with France, making Vietnam fully independent within the

French Union The French Union () was a political entity created by the French Fourth Republic to replace the old French colonial empire system, colloquially known as the " French Empire" (). It was ''de jure'' the end of the "indigenous" () status of Frenc ...

. He resigned and was succeeded by

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 ...

Family

In 1958, he married a French woman named Pacteau. They had one child, a son, Jean-François Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Lộc (born 18 October 1959). He died in 1990 in Paris, aged 75.

References

Nguyen dynasty princes Prime ministers of South Vietnam Vietnamese exiles 1914 births 1990 deaths Vietnamese emigrants to France {{Vietnam-royal-stub