Trần Văn Khiêm is the younger brother of

Madame Ngô Đình Nhu Trần Lệ Xuân (22 August 1924 – 24 April 2011), more popularly known in English as Madame Nhu, was the ''de facto'' First Lady of South Vietnam from 1955 to 1963. She was the wife of Ngô Đình Nhu, who was the brother and chief adviso ...

, the former

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

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 ...

, and a

ese politician, lawyer and public servant. He was a press officer for South Vietnamese President

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 ...

Political career

In 1963, during the

Buddhist crisis The Buddhist crisis ( vi, Biến cố Phật giáo) was a period of political and religious tension in South Vietnam between May and November 1963, characterized by a series of repressive acts by the South Vietnamese government and a campaign of ...

, with relations between the United States and South Vietnam deteriorating, Khiêm drew up a hit list of American officials. In the September 1963 legislative elections, Khiêm stood for the National Assembly for a seat in

Vĩnh Long Vĩnh Long () is a city and the capital of Vĩnh Long Province in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. Vĩnh Long covers and has a population of 147,039 (as of 2009). The name was spelled 永隆 ("eternal prosperity") in the former Hán Nôm writing syst ...

, which he subsequently won. At the same time, he was estranged from his sister and her husband, who suspected him of handing over sensitive information about the government.

Family

He had a child with Mireille Sautereau named Pierre in Paris.

Criminal charges

In 1986, Khiêm was charged with killing his parents, Trần Văn Chuơng and Madame Chuơng, in their Washington, D.C. home. Chuơng had been South Vietnam's ambassador to the United States and observer at the United Nations during the reign of his daughter's brother-in-law,

. Khiêm was ruled unfit for trial on grounds of mental incompetence.

Deportation

In 1993, then 68, he was released from

St. Elizabeths Hospital St. Elizabeths Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Southeast, Washington, D.C. operated by the District of Columbia Department of Behavioral Health. It opened in 1855 under the name Government Hospital for the Insane, the first federally oper ...

, when D.C. Superior Court Judge Curtis E. von Kann ruled that he will never be competent to assist in his defense. Immigration Judge

John Milo Bryant John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

ordered that Khiem be deported, and Immigration and Naturalization Service officials took him to Dulles International Airport, where he boarded a flight to France. Judge Frees Man Accused of Strangling Diplomat Parents October 22, 1993
/ref>

References

External links

A Journey From Glory to the Grave : Prominent Vietnamese Family's Saga Began in Palace, May End in Court in the Wake of a Double Death
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tran, Van Khiem Vietnamese emigrants to the United States Vietnamese anti-communists Members of the National Assembly (South Vietnam) Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) People deported from the United States Vietnamese emigrants to France Living people