Hà Thúc Ký (1 January 1919 – 16 October 2008) was a

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 ...

opposition politician. During the presidency of

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 ...

he was sentenced to 20 years in prison, however, after the coup and assassination of Diệm in 1963, he was released by the rebel forces. He ran for president in the

1967 South Vietnamese presidential election Presidential elections were held in South Vietnam on 3 September 1967. The result was a victory for Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, who received 35% of the vote. Voter turnout was 83%. The elections are widely considered to have been fraudulent. Backgroun ...

, under the Đại Việt Revolutionary Party, a branch of the

Nationalist Party of Greater Vietnam The Nationalist Party of Greater Vietnam (in vi, Đại Việt Quốc dân đảng), often known simply as or ĐVQDĐ, was a nationalist and anti-communist political party and militant organisation that was active in Vietnam in the 20th century. ...

and was unsuccessful. In 1974, after President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu amended the "Regulations of the Political Party" into law, Ký filed an application at the Supreme Court to sue President Thiệu, declaring that the law was unconstitutional.

Early life

He was born in Huế, Annam, French Indochina and was the youngest of eight children. After graduating from high school, he attended the

University of Hanoi Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU; vi, Đại học Quốc gia Hà Nội, ĐHQGHN) is a public research university in Vietnam. The university has 10 member colleges (called "universities") and faculties. VNU is one of two Vietnam's nationa ...

where he earned a BS in engineering. He relocated to Cà Mau where he worked as an engineer. In 1945, the Japanese coup d'état in French Indochina took place, Ký joined the

Political career

Since joining the

, Ký participated in many

anti-communist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...

movements. On 12 December 1963 he was invited by General Dương Văn Minh, the Chairman of the Military Revolutionary Council to join Humanitarian Council, consisting of 40 people and this Council was officially launched on 9 January 1964. On the dawn of 30 January 1964 General

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 ...

launched a coup against Minh, ousting Minh and his government from power. After Khánh finally stabilize power he invited Ký to serve as Minister of Internal Affairs on 8 February 1964, but Ký only held the position for 1 month and 21 days; resigning after having some disagreements with Khánh. Ký was an unsuccessful candidate for president in the

. After losing his bid for president, he won a house seat in the National Assembly. In May 1965, he published the 9-point Manifesto, advocating against the Communists, demanding the realization of national unity, demanding reforms in economy, politics, culture, education, society, etc. In 1969, Ký led a delegation of all South Vietnamese political groups abroad to meet Pope Paul VI as well as other world leaders to recognize and support

South 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 its fight against invading Communists. In 1974, he sued President Thiệu for signing a law regulating political parties.

Life in exile

On 30 April 1975 when South Vietnam fell to the advancing Communist North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces, Ký and his family fled the Communists by boat, resettling in the United States as

political refugees The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another entit ...

. During his life in exile, he continued to fight for freedom, democracy and human rights for Vietnam and opposing the communist regime. He died on 16 October 2008 at 12:10 pm at Holy Cross Hospital, in Silver Spring, Maryland, US.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ha, Thuc Ky 1919 births 2008 deaths South Vietnamese politicians Members of the National Assembly (South Vietnam)