Bảo Đại (, vi-hantu, , lit. "keeper of greatness", 22 October 191331 July 1997), born Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy (), was the 13th and final

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

of the

Nguyễn dynasty The Nguyễn dynasty (chữ Nôm: 茹阮, vi, Nhà Nguyễn; chữ Hán: 阮朝, vi, Nguyễn triều) was the last Vietnamese dynasty, which ruled the unified Vietnamese state largely independently from 1802 to 1883. During its existence, ...

, the last ruling dynasty of Vietnam. From 1926 to 1945, he was emperor of Annam and ''de jure'' monarch of

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, includ ...

, which were then protectorates in

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...

, covering the present-day central and northern Vietnam. Bảo Đại ascended the throne in 1932. The Japanese ousted the

Vichy French Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

administration in March 1945 and then ruled through Bảo Đại, who renamed his country "Vietnam". He abdicated in August 1945 when Japan surrendered. From 1949 to 1955, Bảo Đại was the chief of state of the non-communist

State of Vietnam The State of Vietnam ( vi, Quốc gia Việt Nam; Chữ Nôm: 國家越南; french: État du Viêt-Nam) was a governmental entity in Southeast Asia that existed from 1949 until 1955, first as a member of the French Union and later as a country ...

. Viewed as a puppet ruler, Bảo Đại was criticized for being too closely associated with France and spending much of his time outside Vietnam. He was eventually ousted in a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

in 1955 by Prime Minister

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

, who was supported by the United States.

Early life

Bảo Đại was born on 22 October 1913 and given the name of Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy in the Palace of Doan-Trang-Vien, part of the compound of the Purple Forbidden City in

Huế Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...

, the capital of Vietnam. He was later given the name Nguyễn Vĩnh Thụy. His father was Emperor

Khải Định Khải Định (; chữ Hán: 啓定; born Nguyễn Phúc Bửu Đảo; 8 October 1885 – 6 November 1925) was the 12th emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty in Vietnam, reigning from 1916 to 1925. His name at birth was Prince Nguyễn Phúc Bửu Đ� ...

of Annam. His mother was the emperor's second wife, Tu Cung, who was renamed 'Doan Huy' upon her marriage. She held various titles over the years that indicated her advancing rank as a favored consort until she eventually became Empress Dowager in 1933. Vietnam had been ruled from Huế by the Nguyễn dynasty since 1802. The French government, which took control of the region in the late 19th century, split Vietnam into three areas: the protectorates of Annam and

and the colony of

Cochinchina Cochinchina or Cochin-China (, ; vi, Đàng Trong (17th century - 18th century, Việt Nam (1802-1831), Đại Nam (1831-1862), Nam Kỳ (1862-1945); km, កូសាំងស៊ីន, Kosăngsin; french: Cochinchine; ) is a historical exony ...

. The

was given nominal rule of Annam. At the age of nine, Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy was sent to France to be educated at the

Lycée Condorcet The Lycée Condorcet () is a school founded in 1803 in Paris, France, located at 8, rue du Havre, in the city's 9th arrondissement. It is one of the four oldest high schools in Paris and also one of the most prestigious. Since its inception, var ...

and, later, the

Paris Institute of Political Studies , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , accreditation ...

. On 8 January 1926, he was made the emperor after his father's death and took the

era name A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin ''regnum'' meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year of ...

''Bảo Đại'' ("Protector of Grandeur" or "Keeper of Greatness"). He did not yet ascend to the throne and returned to France to continue his studies. File:Bao Dai nho.jpg, Young crown prince Vĩnh Thụy. File:Vinh-thuy-bao-dai-1-.jpg, Crown Prince Vĩnh Thụy in 1920 File:Young prince BD.jpg, Young prince Vinh Thuy (2nd right to left). File:Young emperor.jpg, Young emperor File:Young prince Vinh Thuy.jpg, Young crown prince Vĩnh Thụy (right) boarding the Azay-le-Rideau steamer bound for Marseille, to study in France,1922. File:Le jeune Empereur d'Annam Bao (...)Agence de btv1b9025201h 1.jpg, Crown prince Vĩnh Thụy (right) and his cousin Vĩnh Cẩn in Paris (1926) during studying abroad in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

File:Bao Dai 1926.jpg, Bảo Đại in Paris, 1926 File:Baodai.jpg, Emperor Bảo Đại.

Marriages

On 20 March 1934, age 20, at the imperial city of Huế, Bảo Đại married Marie-Thérèse Nguyễn Hữu Thị Lan (died 15 September 1963, Chabrignac, France), a commoner from a wealthy Vietnamese Catholic family. After the wedding, she was given the title Empress

Nam Phương Empress Nam Phương (4 December 1914 – 16 September 1963), born Marie-Thérèse Nguyễn Hữu Thị Lan, was the last empress consort of Vietnam. She was the wife of Bảo Đại (), the last emperor of Vietnam (officially named as Đại ...

. The couple had five children: Crown Prince

Bảo Long :''In the Vietnamese name below,'' Nguyễn ''is the surname.'' Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Bảo Long (4 January 1936 – 28 July 2007) was the eldest son of Bảo Đại, Vietnam's last emperor. He headed the House of Nguyễn Phúc from 30 ...

(4 January 1936 – 28 July 2007), Princess Phương Mai (1 August 1937 – 16 January 2021), Princess

Phương Liên Princess Phương Liên of Vietnam (born 3 November 1939 in Đà Lạt) is a daughter of Bảo Đại, the last emperor of Vietnam, and his first wife, Empress Nam Phương. Biography Her father abdicated as emperor in 1945. She was educated at ...

(born 3 November 1938), Princess Phương Dung (born 5 February 1942), and Prince Bảo Thắng (9 December 1943 – 15 March 2017). Although Bảo Đại later had additional children with other women, these are the only ones listed in the clan genealogy.

Mistresses

File:Phi-anh.jpg, Concubine Phi Ánh File:Thứ-phi-Mộng-Điệp.jpg, Concubine Mộng Điệp File:Cuoc-doi-va-tinh-su-vua-bao-dai-12.jpg, Bao Dai and Mộng Điệp Nam Phương was granted the title of empress in 1945. By one count, Bảo Đại had relationships with eight women and fathered 13 children. Those named "Phương" are daughters, while those named "Bảo" are sons.Viet, Dan,
vua Bảo Dại co bao nhieu vọ con?
" ''Nghệ Thuật Xưa''

Independence and abdication

In 1940, during the second World War, coinciding with their ally

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity aggressively enter territory (country subdivision), territory owned by another such entity, gen ...

of France,

Imperial Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...

took over French Indochina. While they did not eject the French colonial administration, the

occupation Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

authorities directed policy from behind the scenes in a parallel of

Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...

. The Japanese promised not to interfere with the court at Huế, but in 1945, after ousting the French, coerced Bảo Đại into declaring Vietnamese independence from France as a member of Japan's "

Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere The , also known as the GEACPS, was a concept that was developed in the Empire of Japan and propagated to Asian populations which were occupied by it from 1931 to 1945, and which officially aimed at creating a self-sufficient bloc of Asian peo ...

"; the country then became the Empire of Vietnam. The Japanese had a

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

pretender, Prince

Cường Để Cường Để (, ; born Nguyễn Phước Dân ( vi-hantu, 阮福民); 11 January 1882 - 5 April 1951) was an early 20th-century Vietnamese revolutionary who, along with Phan Bội Châu, unsuccessfully tried to liberate Vietnam from French colo ...

, waiting to take power in case the new emperor's "elimination" was required. Japan surrendered to the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

in August 1945, and the

Viet Minh The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Fro ...

(under the leadership of communist

Hồ Chí Minh (: ; born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), commonly known as ('Uncle Hồ'), also known as ('President Hồ'), ('Father of the Nation, Old father of the people') and by other Pseudonym, aliases, was a Vietnamese people, Vietnam ...

) aimed to take power in a free Vietnam. Due to his popular political stand against the French and the 1945 famine, Hồ was able to persuade Bảo Đại to abdicate on 25 August 1945, handing power over to the Việt Minh – an event which greatly enhanced Hồ's legitimacy in the eyes of the Vietnamese people. Bảo Đại was appointed the "supreme advisor" to Hồ's

Democratic Republic of Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...

(DRV) in

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 is ...

, which asserted its independence on 2 September 1945. The DRV was then ousted by the newly formed

French Fourth Republic The French Fourth Republic (french: Quatrième république française) was the Republicanism, republican government of France from 27 October 1946 to 4 October 1958, governed by the fourth republican constitution. It was in many ways a revival of ...

in November 1946. File:Đế-quốc Việt-Nam tuyên-bố độc-lập, 1945.jpg, Declaration of Empire of Vietnam in 1945 File:Abdication of Emperor Bảo Đại ceremony (30-August-1945).jpg, Abdication ceremony of Bảo Đại. File:Lâm-thời Liên-hiệp Chính-phủ Việt-nam Dân-chủ Cộng-hòa ra mắt Quốc-hội ngày 02 tháng 03 năm 1946.jpg, The National assembly of the

on 2 March 1946, supreme advisor Vĩnh Thụy (Bảo Đại), sixth from right to left, next to President

(middle). File:Bao Dai and Ho Chi Minh.jpg, Bảo Đại (right) as the "supreme advisor" to the government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam led by president Hồ Chí Minh (left), 1 June 1946 File:Members of Vietnamese Government at the Independent Holliday Celebration in Hanoi 1946.jpg, Members of national assembly of Democratic Republic of Vietnam, Bảo Đại (far right). Flag of Bao Dai (1948-1955)

Cabinet

File:Tôn Thất Đàn.jpeg, Tôn Thất Đàn, head of Minister of Justice from 1927–1933 File:5 vị Thượng thư từ trái qua phải Hồ Đắc Khải, Phạm Quỳnh, Thái Văn Toản, Ngô Đình Diệm, Bùi Bằng Đoàn.jpg, Hồ Đắc Khải (left) Minister of Revenue from 1933 to 1945 and Thái Văn Toản (middle), minister of Justice in 1933–1942. File:Mr. Tran Trong Kim.jpg, Trần Trọng Kim, Prime Minister of Empire of Vietnam File:Ngo Dinh Diem - Thumbnail - ARC 542189.png,

, Prime Minister of

, later president of

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 ...

in 1955

Return to power and Indochina War

Bảo Đại spent nearly a year as "supreme advisor" to the DRV, during which period Vietnam descended into

armed conflict War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

between rival Vietnamese factions and the French. He left this post in 1946 and moved to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, where the French and Việt Minh both attempted unsuccessfully to solicit him for political support. Bảo Đại returns to Vietnam postcard - French Indo-China (1949)

Bảo Đại returns to Vietnam postcard - French Indo-China (1949)

Eventually a coalition of Vietnamese anti-communists (including future

South Vietnamese 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 ...

leader

and members of political/religious groups such as the

Cao Dai Caodaism ( vi, Đạo Cao Đài, Chữ Hán: ) is a monotheistic syncretic new religious movement officially established in the city of Tây Ninh in southern Vietnam in 1926. The full name of the religion is (The Great Faith or theThird Univ ...

Hòa Hảo Hòa Hảo is a religious movement described either as a syncretistic folk religion or as a sect of Buddhism. It was founded in 1939 by Huỳnh Phú Sổ (1920–1947), who is regarded as a saint by its devotees. It is one of the major religio ...

, and VNQDĐ) formed a National Union and declared to support Bảo Đại on the condition he would seek independence for Vietnam. This persuaded him to reject Việt Minh overtures and enter into negotiations with the French. On 7 December 1947, Bảo Đại signed the first of the

Ha Long Bay Agreements Ha may refer to: Agencies and organizations * Health authority * Hells Angels Motorcycle Club * Highways Agency (now ''National Highways''), UK government body maintaining England's major roads * Homelessness Australia, peak body organisation ...

with France. Despite ostensibly committing France to Vietnamese independence, it was considered minimally binding and transferred no actual authority to Vietnam. The agreement was promptly criticized by National Union members, including Diệm. In a possible attempt to escape the resulting political tension, Bảo Đại travelled to Europe and commenced on a four-month pleasure tour which earned him the sobriquet "night club emperor". After persistent efforts by the French, Bảo Đại was persuaded to return from Europe and sign a second Ha Long Bay Agreement on 5 June 1948. This contained similarly weak promises for Vietnamese independence and had as little success as the first agreement. Bảo Đại once again travelled to Europe whilst warfare in Vietnam continued to escalate. After months of negotiations with French President

Vincent Auriol Vincent Jules Auriol (; 27 August 1884 – 1 January 1966) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1947 to 1954. Early life and politics Auriol was born in Revel, Haute-Garonne, as the only child of Jacques Antoine Aurio ...

, he finally signed the

Élysée Accords The Elysée Accords were an agreement signed at the Élysée Palace on March 9, 1949 by ex-emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another t ...

on 9 March 1949, which led to the establishment of the

with Bảo Đại as Chief of State. However, the country was still only partially autonomous, with France initially retaining effective control of the army and foreign relations. Bảo Đại himself stated in 1950: "What they call a Bảo Đại solution turned out to be just a French solution... the situation in Indochina is getting worse every day". As Diệm and other hardcore nationalists were disappointed in the lack of autonomy and refused high government posts, Bảo Đại mainly filled his government with wealthy figures strongly connected to France. He then spent his own time in the resort towns of

Da Lat Da Lat (also written as Dalat, vi, Đà Lạt; ), is the capital of Lâm Đồng Province and the largest city of the Central Highlands region in Vietnam. The city is located above sea level on the Langbian Plateau. Da Lat is one of the mos ...

Nha Trang Nha Trang ( or ; ) is a coastal city and capital of Khánh Hòa Province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is bounded on the north by Ninh Hòa District, Ninh Hoà town, on the south by Cam Ranh city and on the west by Diên Khánh Distri ...

, and Buôn Ma Thuột, largely avoiding the process of governing. All this contributed to his reputation as a French puppet and a rise in popular support for the Việt Minh, whose armed insurgency against the French-backed regime was developing into a full-fledged civil war. Nonetheless, in 1950 he attended a series of conferences in Pau, France where he pressed the French for further independence. The French granted some minor concessions to the Vietnamese, which caused a mixed reaction on both sides. In addition to the increasing unpopularity of the Bảo Đại government, the communist victory in China in 1949 also led to a further revival of the fortunes of the Việt Minh. When

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

recognized the DRV government, the United States reacted by extending diplomatic recognition to Bảo Đại's government in March 1950. This and the outbreak of the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

in June led to U.S. military aid and active support of the French war effort in Indochina, now seen as anti-communist rather than colonialist. Despite this, the war between the French colonial forces and the Việt Minh started to go badly for the French, culminating in a major victory for the Việt Minh at

Điện Biên Phủ Điện Biên Phủ (, meaning: ''Established Frontier Prefecture''), is a city in the northwestern region of Vietnam. It is the capital of Điện Biên Province. The city is best known for the decisive Battle of Điện Biên Phủ, which occu ...

. This led to the negotiating of a 1954 peace deal between the French and the Việt Minh, known as the Geneva Accords, which partitioned Vietnam at the 17th parallel. The north side was given to the DRV, with the State of Vietnam receiving the south. Bảo Đại remained "Head of State" of South Vietnam, but moved to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and appointed Ngô Đình Diệm as his

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Second removal from power

At first, Ngô Đình Diệm exercised no influence over South Vietnam: the Việt Minh still had de facto control of somewhere between sixty and ninety percent of the countryside (by French estimates), whilst the rest was dominated by the various religious sects. Meanwhile, the new capital of

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_ ...

was under the total control of criminal group Bình Xuyên. According to Colonel Lansdale, it had paid Bảo Đại a "staggering sum" for control of local prostitution and gambling and of Saigon's police force. Regardless, Diệm's forces embarked on a campaign against the Bình Xuyên, with fighting breaking out in the streets on 29 March 1955. In an attempt to protect his clients, Bảo Đại ordered Diệm to travel to France, but he was disobeyed and Diệm eventually succeeded in pushing his opponents out of the city. Using a divide and conquer strategy, Diệm then employed a mixture of force and bribery to sway the remaining religious sects to his side. File:903aafd6079a3ed1 landing.jpg, Anti-Bao Dai's pro-french regime in

national assembly, Saigon, 1955 File:Diem-voting.jpg, Prime minister Ngo Dinh Diem voting to overthrow chief-of-state Bảo Đại File:1955-referendum-tally.jpg, The result of the 1955 referendum, Saigon Now with a broad range of support, a new Popular Revolutionary Committee (formed by Diệm's brother

Ngô Đình Nhu Ngô Đình Nhu (; 7 October 19102 November 1963; baptismal name Jacob) was a Vietnamese archivist and politician. He was the younger brother and chief political advisor of South Vietnam's first president, Ngô Đình Diệm. Although he held ...

) was able to call for a referendum to remove Bảo Đại and establish a republic with Diệm as president. The campaign leading up to the referendum was punctuated by personal attacks against the former emperor, whose supporters had no way to refute them since campaigning for Bảo Đại was forbidden. In any case, the 23 October referendum was widely condemned as being fraudulent, with the official results showing an implausible result of 98.9% in favor of a republic, while there was also evidence of widespread ballot box stuffing: the number of votes for a republic exceeded the total number of registered voters by 155,025 in Saigon, while the total number of votes exceeded the total number of registered voters by 449,084, and the number of votes for a republic exceeded the total number of registered voters by 386,067.Direct Democracy
/ref> Bảo Đại was removed from power, with Diệm declaring himself president of the new

on 26 October 1955.

Life in exile

In 1957, during his visit to Alsace region, he met Christiane Bloch-Carcenac with whom he had an affair for several years. The relationship with Bloch-Carcenac resulted in the birth of his last child, Patrick-Édouard Bloch-Carcenac, who still lives in Alsace in France. In 1972, Bảo Đại issued a public statement from exile, appealing to the Vietnamese people for national

reconciliation Reconciliation or reconcile may refer to: Accounting * Reconciliation (accounting) Arts, entertainment, and media Sculpture * ''Reconciliation'' (Josefina de Vasconcellos sculpture), a sculpture by Josefina de Vasconcellos in Coventry Cathedra ...

, stating, "The time has come to put an end to the fratricidal war and to recover at last peace and accord". At times, Bảo Đại maintained residence in southern France, and in particular, in

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

, where he sailed often on his private yacht, one of the largest in Monte Carlo harbor. He still reportedly held great influence among local political figures in the

Quảng Trị Quảng Trị () is a district-level town in Quảng Trị Province in the North Central Coast region of Vietnam. It is second of two municipalities in the province after the provincial capital Đông Hà. History The Sino-Vietnamese name Quả ...

and Thừa Thiên provinces of

. The Communist government of

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...

sent representatives to France hoping that Bảo Đại would become a member of a coalition government which might reunite Vietnam, in the hope of attracting his supporters in the regions wherein he still held influence. As a result of these meetings, Bảo Đại publicly spoke out against the presence of

American troops The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

in South Vietnam, and he criticized President

Nguyễn Văn Thiệu Nguyễn Văn Thiệu (; 5 April 1923 – 29 September 2001) was a South Vietnamese military officer and politician who was the president of South Vietnam from 1967 to 1975. He was a general in the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, Republic o ...

's regime in South Vietnam. He called for all political factions to create a free,

neutral Neutral or neutrality may refer to: Mathematics and natural science Biology * Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity Chemistry and physics * Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction in ...

, peace-loving government which would resolve the tense situation that had taken form in the country. In 1982, Bảo Đại, his wife Monique, and other members of the former imperial family of Vietnam visited the United States. His agenda was to oversee and bless Buddhist and Caodaiist religious ceremonies, in the California and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Vietnamese-American Vietnamese Americans ( vi, Người Mỹ gốc Việt, lit=Viet-origin American people) are Americans of Vietnamese ancestry. They make up about half of all overseas Vietnamese and are the fourth-largest Asian American ethnic group after Chinese ...

communities. Throughout Bảo Đại's life in both Vietnam and in France, he remained unpopular among the Vietnamese populace as he was considered a political puppet for the French colonialist regime, for lacking any form of political power, and for his cooperation with the French and for his pro-French ideals. The former emperor clarified, however, that his reign was always a constant battle and a balance between preserving the monarchy and the integrity of the nation versus fealty to the French authorities. Ultimately, power devolved away from his person and into ideological camps and in the face of Diem's underestimated influences on factions within the empire. Mo cuu hoang Bao Dai

Bảo Đại died in a

military hospital A military hospital is a hospital owned and operated by a military. They are often reserved for the use of military personnel and their dependents, but in some countries are made available to civilians as well. They may or may not be located on a ...

in Paris, France, on 30 July 1997. He was interred in the

Cimetière de Passy Passy Cemetery (french: Cimetière de Passy) is a small cemetery in Passy, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. History The current cemetery replaced the old cemetery (''l'ancien cimetière communal de Passy'', located on Rue Lekain), w ...

Perception of Bảo Đại in Vietnam

The

Communist Party of Vietnam The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), also known as the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP), is the founding and sole legal party of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Founded in 1930 by Hồ Chí Minh, the CPV became the ruling party of North ...

considered him to be a traitor. After he was once again helped by France as the head of state of Vietnam,

Ho Chi Minh (: ; born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), commonly known as ('Uncle Hồ'), also known as ('President Hồ'), (' Old father of the people') and by other aliases, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman. He served as Prime ...

said in an interview with Chinese media: "Vĩnh Thụy brought the French invading army back to Vietnam and killed more compatriots. Vĩnh Thụy is a true traitor. The French colonists conspired to restore slavery in Vietnam. Vĩnh Thụy is the confidant of the colonists. Although Vietnamese law is very tolerant to those who have lost their way, they will severely punish the traitorous orphans. The Vietnamese people are determined to defeat all colonial conspiracies and fight for true independence and reunification."

Pictures

File:Enthronement of Emperor Bảo Đại 010.jpg, Enthronement ceremony of the emperor at the

Imperial City, Huế Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texa ...

. File:Marseille 21 6 22 Sarraut l'empereur d'Annam (...)Agence Rol btv1b530824645 1.jpg, Emperor Khải Định, Prince Vĩnh Thụy (middle) and Albert Sarrault in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, 1922. File:Sa Majesté Bao-Daï fit le pèlerinage aux Tombeaux des ancêtres de la Dynastie à Thanh-Hóa, 1932.jpg, The visit of Bảo Đại to the ancestral tombs of Nguyễn Clan in

Thanh Hóa Thanh Hóa () is the capital of Thanh Hóa Province. The city is situated in the east of the province on the Ma River (Sông Mã), about 150 kilometers (93 miles) south of Hanoi and 1560 kilometers (969 miles) north of Ho Chi Minh City. Thanh ...

, 4/11/1932. File:Sa Majesté l'empereur d'Annam Bao-Daï (...)Agence de btv1b9052997q.jpg, Abd Al Rahman Barjach Pasha of

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populati ...

, Bảo Đại and prince Vĩnh Cẩn in 1932. File:Empereur Bao Dai.jpg, Emperor in Vietnam after finishing his study in France. File:Cuoc-doi-va-tinh-su-vua-bao-dai-05.jpg, Bảo Đại riding horse. File:Cuoc-doi-va-tinh-su-vua-bao-dai-06.jpg, Bảo Đại (right) at the tennis court and his cousin Vĩnh Cẩn (left). File:Baodai2.jpg File:Emperor in cyclo.jpg, Emperor in cyclo. File:Bao Dai in Hanoi.jpg, Bảo Đại visits a catholic church in Hanoi. File:Colorized Bao Dai.jpg, Emperor at ceremony.

In popular culture

*Bảo Đại was portrayed by actor

Huỳnh Anh Tuấn Huang (; ) is a Chinese surname that originally means and refers to jade people were wearing and decorating in ancient times. While ''Huáng'' is the pinyin romanization of the word, it may also be romanized as Hwang, Wong, Waan, Wan, Waon, Hwo ...

in the 2004 Vietnamese miniseries ''Ngọn nến Hoàng cung'' (''A Candle in the Imperial Palace''). *On 13 May 2017, a watch owned by Bảo Đại, a unique Rolex ref. 6062 triple calendar moonphase watch made for him while he was working in Geneva, became one of the most expensive watches ever sold, selling for a then record price of US$5,060,427 at a Phillips auction in Geneva.

Bảo Đại coins

The last ''cash'' coin ever produced in the world bears the name of Bảo Đại in

Chữ Hán Chữ Hán (𡨸漢, literally "Chinese characters", ), Chữ Nho (𡨸儒, literally "Confucian characters", ) or Hán tự (漢字, ), is the Vietnamese term for Chinese characters, used to write Văn ngôn (which is a form of Classical Chinese ...

. There are three types of this coin. Large cast piece with 10 văn inscription on the reverse, medium cast piece with no reverse inscription, and small struck piece. All were issued in 1933. File:Bao-Dai-Thong-Bao.gif, Bảo Đại Thông Bảo 10 văn Paul the Great reign (1925–1945) File:保大通宝小平銭.gif, Bảo Đại Thông Bảo plain reverse File:BaoDaiThongBao.gif, Struck Bảo Đại Thông Bảo

Quotes

* In 1945 when the Japanese colonel in charge of the Hue garrison told Bảo Đại that he had (in line with the orders of the Allied commander) taken measures ensuring the security of the Imperial Palace and those within it against a possible Việt Minh coup, Bảo Đại dismissed the protection declaring "We do not wish a foreign army to spill the blood of our people." * He explained his abdication in 1945 saying "We would prefer to be a citizen of an independent country rather than Emperor of an enslaved one." *When, after World War II, France attempted to counter

's popularity and gain the support of the U.S. by creating a

puppet government A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government, is a state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside power and subject to its orders.Compare: Puppet states have nominal sover ...

with him, he said "What they call a Bảo Đại solution turns out to be just a French solution." * In a rare public statement from France in 1972, Bảo Đại appealed to the people of Vietnam for national reconciliation, saying "The time has come to put an end to the fratricidal war and to recover at last peace and accord."

Honours

National honours

* Sovereign and Grand Master of the

Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam The Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam (, , ; french: Ordre impérial du Dragon d'Annam, Ordre du Dragon Vert) was created in 1886 in the city of Huế, by Emperor Đồng Khánh of the Imperial House of Annam, upon the "recommendation" of t ...

. * Sovereign and Grand Master of the

Imperial Order of Merit of Annam Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

(revived and expanded as the

National Order of Vietnam The National Order of Vietnam ( vi, Bảo Quốc Huân Chương) was a combined military-civilian decoration of South Vietnam and was considered the highest honor that could be bestowed upon an individual by the Republic of Vietnam government. ...

on 10 June 1955).

Foreign honours

* : Knight of the Most Illustrious Order of the Royal House of Chakri (Kingdom of Thailand, 1939). * : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honour (10 September 1932). * : Knight Grand Cross of the

Royal Order of Cambodia The Royal Order of Cambodia ( km, គ្រឿងឥស្សរិយយសព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា; french: Ordre royal du Cambodge) was a colonial order of chivalry of French Cambodia, and is still in use ...

. * : Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of the Million Elephants and the White Parasol The Order of the Million Elephants and the White Parasol, also called the Order of the Million Elephants and the White Umbrella ( lo, ອິສະຣິຍາພອນລ້ານຊ້າງຮົ່ມຂາວ ''Itsariyaphon Lan Sang Hom Khao ...

. * : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown (1935). * : Knight Grand Cross of the Sharifian Order of Al-Alaoui (Kingdom of Morocco). * : Member First Class of the

Royal Family Order of Johor The Most Esteemed Royal Family Order of Johor (Bahasa Melayu : ''Darjah Kerabat Johor Yang Amat Dihormati''),World Medal IndexDecorations of Johor/ref>Colecciones Militares (Antonio Prieto Barrio)Decorations of Johor/ref> is a chivalrous order a ...

KI(21 March 1933).

Reign symbols

References

External links

Photos of Bảo Đại's summer palaces

Web citation

Images
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bao, Dai 1913 births 1997 deaths Dethroned monarchs Monarchs who abdicated People from Huế Nguyen dynasty emperors World War II political leaders Vietnamese anti-communists Vietnamese people of the Vietnam War Sciences Po alumni Converts to Roman Catholicism from Buddhism Vietnamese Roman Catholics Child rulers from Asia Vietnamese expatriates in France Lycée Condorcet alumni Vietnamese monarchs Burials at Passy Cemetery Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur First Classes of the Royal Family Order of Johor Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Belgium)