The High National Council (South Vietnam) (''Thượng Hội đồng Quốc gia'') (8 September 1964 – 20 December 1964) was a civilian legislative assembly convened by the Military Revolutionary Council (MRC) led by the three generals

Dương Văn Minh Dương Văn Minh (; 16 February 19166 August 2001), popularly known as Big Minh, was a South Vietnamese politician and a senior general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and a politician during the presidency of Ngô Đình Diệm ...

Nguyễn Khánh Nguyễn Khánh (; 8 November 192711 January 2013) was a South Vietnamese military officer and Army of the Republic of Vietnam general who served in various capacities as head of state and prime minister of South Vietnam while at the head of a ...

and

Trần Thiện Khiêm General Trần Thiện Khiêm (; 15 December 1925 – 24 June 2021) was a South Vietnamese soldier and politician, who served as an officer in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. He was born in Saigon, Cochinchina, Frenc ...

, under US pressure, after the First Republic led by Ngô Đình Diệm was overthrown by the military junta. Its ultimate objective was to prepare the constitution of the Second Republic of Vietnam. The Council consisted of 16 well-respected citizens: Nguyễn Xuân Chữ, Tôn Thất Hanh, Nguyễn Văn Huyền, Ngô Gia Hy, Nguyễn Đình Luyện, Nguyễn Văn Lực, Trần Đình Nam, Hồ Văn Nhựt, Trần Văn Quế, Lê Khắc Quyến,

Phan Khắc Sửu Phan Khắc Sửu ( 9 January 1893 – 24 May 1970) was a South Vietnamese engineer and politician who served as a minister in Bảo Đại's government of the State of Vietnam and as a civilian Chief of State of South Vietnam from 1964–65 durin ...

, Lương Trọng Tường,

Hồ Đắc Thắng Hồ is a Vietnamese word. It may refer to: *Hồ (surname), a Vietnamese surname *Hồ dynasty The Hồ dynasty (Vietnamese: , chữ Nôm: 茹胡； Sino-Vietnamese: ''Hồ triều, chữ Hán:'' 胡朝) was a short-lived Vietnamese dynasty ...

Lê Văn Thu Le is a romanization of several rare East Asian surnames and a common Vietnamese surname. It is a fairly common surname in the United States, ranked 975th during the 1990 census and 368th during the 2000 census. In 2000, it was the eighth-most-co ...

Mai Thọ Truyền Mai, or MAI, may refer to: Names * Mai (Chinese surname) * Mai (Vietnamese surname) * Mai (name) * Mai (singer), J-Pop singer * Iris Mai (born 1962), German chess master Places * Chiang Mai, largest city in northern Thailand * Ma-i, a pre-Hispa ...

and

Trần Văn Văn Trần (陳) or Tran is a common Vietnamese surname. More than 10% of all Vietnamese people share this surname. It is derived from the common Chinese surname Chen. History The Tran ruled the Trần dynasty, a golden era in Vietnam, and succe ...

. Phan Khắc Sửu was elected by the Council as its chairman on 27 September 1964, and was nominated as Head of State of South Vietnam on 24 October 1964. The Vice-Chairman was Nguyễn Xuân Chữ, and the General Secretary was

. Dr Hồ Văn Nhựt was nominated for the role of Prime Minister of South Vietnam as he had the support from all religious and political parties. It was the first time since the First Republic that this position, of greater power than Head of State, was handed over to a civilian. However, Dr Nhựt wanted a solution for national reconciliation and, after unsatisfactory negotiations with the MRC and American authorities, he declined the offer.

Trần Văn Hương Trần Văn Hương (陳文香, 1 December 1902 – 27 January 1982) was a South Vietnamese politician who was the penultimate president of South Vietnam for a week in April 1975 prior to its surrender to the communist forces of North Vietnam. ...

, prefect 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 subsequently appointed Prime Minister. His civilian government was short-lived as it was opposed by Buddhist Uprising and military revolt, resulting in the military reassuming control of the government and dissolving the Council.Institute of Current World Affairs. Article TO27. http://www.icwa.org/txtArticles/TO-27.htm Thereafter, South Vietnam went through a period of political instability until the

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 ...

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 South V ...

junta took power in mid-1965.

References

{{Reflist South Vietnam Vietnam War