Lieutenant General Sylvain Trần Văn Minh (19 August 1923, in Saigon,

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, ...

– 31 May 2009, in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

, France) was a Vietnamese diplomat and a general of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. In 1942, he passed the entry exam for the St Cyr/St Maixent Military Academy organized in Tong, Indochina. From 1943 to 1945, Lieutenant Minh served with the 9th R.I.C. During this period, he participated in operations in Central and North Vietnam, most notably in Cha Pa. After the Japanese coup of 9 March 1945, he accompanied General Alessandri's troops in the retreat to China. In 1946, he was part of the French troops that retook Dien Bien Phu. From there, he eventually made his way to Saigon, travelling on the Mekong River through Luang Prabang and Vientiane. Deployed to the 22nd R.I.C. (1946–47), he was in charge of protecting military convoys between Saigon and Dalat. Minh was named Directeur des Etudes (Chánh Sở Nghiên Cứu – Director of Intelligence) for the Governor of North Vietnam, Nghiêm Xuân Thiện. 1950 found him in Paris studying at the War Academy (École de Guerre à Paris). Upon his return to Vietnam, he worked at the newly formed State of Vietnam's Ministry of Defense. Two years later, he served on the Chief of Staff. During this time, he worked with General de Lattre de Tassigny in the "Vietnamization" of the Corps Expéditionnaire Français. After participating in Operation Atlante, he was promoted to Commander of the South Sector. In 1955, Colonel Minh was one of the French delegates at the Geneva Convention. After the accords were signed, he returned home to take command of the first military region in South Vietnam. Late 1955, he was promoted to Général de brigade (Brigadier). A year later, the 33-year-old Minh was promoted to Général de division (Major General). From 1957 to 1959, he served as

Commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

of the Da Lat

military academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

. In 1960, President Ngô Đình Diệm named him Inspector General the National Defense, a post he held until 1963. In 1964–65, he was the Chief of General StaffFOREIGN RELATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES, 1964–1968, VOLUME II: VIETNAM, JANUARY-JUNE 1965
/ref> and in 1965, Minister of Defense. The last position he held was Ambassador of the

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 t ...

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

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from 1971 until 30 April 1975, when Saigon fell.

References

External links

Major General Trần Văn Minh's Military Service
* *
Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces Reunion 2003
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20041021083834/http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/download/csipubs/Block/chp5_Block%20by%20Block.pdf The Battle for Hue, 1968by James H. Willbanks
Declassified CIA document on General Minh's remarks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tran, Van Minh 1923 births 2009 deaths Ambassadors of Vietnam to Tunisia Army of the Republic of Vietnam generals People from Ho Chi Minh City People of the First Indochina War South Vietnamese military personnel of the Vietnam War Vietnamese diplomats Vietnamese expatriates in France