Nguyễn Lưu Viên (21 November 1919 – 18 September 2017) was a South Vietnamese doctor and politician who served as

Deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spai ...

Prime Minister of South Vietnam This is a list of leaders of South Vietnam, since the establishment of the Autonomous Republic of Cochinchina in 1946, and the division of Vietnam in 1954 until the fall of the Republic of Vietnam in 1975, and the reunification of Vietnam in 19 ...

under various prime ministers. He also served as

Minister of Internal Affairs Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

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 ...

under Prime Ministers

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 Văn Hương.

Biography

He was born on 21 November 1919 to a wealthy family in Trà Vinh province. He earned his

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

at the Hanoi Medical University and worked as a doctor prior to entering politics.

Fall of Saigon and life in exile

was on the verge of collapsing to the advancing forces of North Vietnam Viên left for

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on 29 April, a day before the government of General

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. ...

announced South Vietnam's surrender on 30 April 1975 to the

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

regime. After arriving in Guam, Viên was then relocated to

Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by Oc ...

along with other Vietnamese refugees. Afterward, Viên decided to further his studies in

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

before deciding to relocate to

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where he worked as a doctor at Baptist Memorial Hospital for 11 years. In 1988, he retired and then relocated to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

where he would live out the remainder of his life. He died at his home at the age of 97 in Springfield, Virginia on 18 September 2017.

References

{{reflist 1919 births 2017 deaths People from Trà Vinh province South Vietnamese politicians 20th-century Vietnamese physicians 21st-century Vietnamese physicians Vietnamese anti-communists Vietnamese exiles Vietnamese emigrants to the United States