Bùi Diễm (1 October 1923 – 24 October 2021) was South Vietnam's ambassador to the United States under President

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 Armed Forces (RVNAF), becam ...

. He played a key role in the last desperate attempt to secure US$722 million in military aid to defend South Vietnam against the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

in 1975. He was the nephew of

Trần Trọng Kim Trần Trọng Kim (Chữ Nôm: ; 1883 – December 2, 1953), courtesy name Lệ Thần, was a Vietnamese scholar and politician who served as the Prime Minister of the short-lived Empire of Vietnam, a state established with the support of Impe ...

, who served as the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

of Emperor

Bảo Đại Bảo Đại (, vi-hantu, , lit. "keeper of greatness", 22 October 191331 July 1997), born Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy (), was the 13th and final emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last ruling dynasty of Vietnam. From 1926 to 1945, he was em ...

. Bùi was born in

Hà Nam Hà is a Vietnamese surname. The name is transliterated as He in Chinese and Ha in Korean. Ha is the anglicized variation of the surname Hà. It is also the anglicized variation of Hạ. Notable people with the surname Hà * Hà Kiều Anh, ...

on 1 October 1923. He was the founder of the ''Saigon Post'', in South Vietnam. After the fall of Saigon in 1975, he settled in the United States, living in Rockville, Maryland. He was a scholar at the

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (or Wilson Center) is a quasi-government entity and think tank which conducts research to inform public policy. Located in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Wash ...

and at the

American Enterprise Institute The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right Washington, D.C.–based think tank that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare. A ...

, as well as a research professor at George Mason University. Bui Diem was interviewed by

Stanley Karnow Stanley Abram Karnow (February 4, 1925 – January 27, 2013) was an American journalist and historian. He is best known for his writings on the Vietnam War. Education and career After serving with the United States Army Air Forces in the China B ...

for Vietnam: A Television History, where he recounts in a stunning allegation that

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

had unilaterally deployed Marine ground troops into South Vietnam without consulting the South Vietnamese government. He was the author of the book ''In the Jaws of History''. He was interviewed in Ken Burns's series ''

The Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and ...

''. Bùi died in Rockville, Maryland, on 24 October 2021, at the age of 98.

References

External links

Interview with Bui DiemThe Vietnamese Economy and Its Transformation to an Open Market System
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bui, Diem 1923 births 2021 deaths Vietnamese emigrants to the United States George Mason University faculty People of the First Indochina War Vietnamese exiles Ambassadors of South Vietnam to the United States American Enterprise Institute People from Hà Nam Province