Lê Văn Hoạch (; 1896 – 1978) was a Vietnamese doctor and politician who served as president of

Cochinchina Cochinchina or Cochin-China (, ; ; ; ; ) is a historical exonym and endonym, exonym for part of Vietnam, depending on the contexts, usually for Southern Vietnam. Sometimes it referred to the whole of Vietnam, but it was commonly used to refer t ...

from 1946 to 1947.

Biography

He was born in 1896 in Phong Điền district, Cần Thơ,

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...

. He earned a

medical degree A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into special ...

from the University of Indochina. Afterward, he went overseas to France to further his studies. After returning from his studies overseas, he became active in the Cao Đài movement in

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

. He was also the police chief in Cần Thơ during the

Japanese coup d'état in French Indochina The Japanese coup d'état in French Indochina, known as , was a Empire of Japan, Japanese operation that took place on 9 March 1945, towards the end of World War II. With Japanese forces losing the war and the threat of an Allies of World War I ...

in March 1945. He was able to take control of Cần Thơ from the

Imperial Japanese The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From 1910 to 19 ...

and he protected the French. As a reward, the French decided to make him a delegate for Cần Thơ province at the Consultative Council. After the suicide of Nguyen Van Thinh, the French supported Hoạch to become the next prime minister and leader of the Autonomous Republic of Cochinchina. He assumed the office on 7 December 1946 and would serve until 8 October 1947. He was succeeded by his deputy Nguyễn Văn Xuân. Despite having the French support, Hoạch was a strong supporter for the independence of

. On 11 December 1947 he would form the Vietnam National Assembly in Saigon. In addition to getting support from people in Cochinchina, he was able to get some support in Annam and

Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, including both the ...

which resulted in the formation Vietnam National Rally on 23 December 1947. He would later go on and proclaim that he supported the

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

form of government and he claims that there were extensive support from the Cao Đài,

Hòa Hảo Hòa Hảo is a Vietnamese new religious movement. It is described either as a Syncretism, syncretistic Vietnamese folk religion, folk religion or as a sect of Buddhism. It was founded in French Cochinchina, Cochinchina in 1939 by Huỳnh Phú S ...

, and the

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Personal life

He was an adherent of Caodaism. He had a younger brother named Lê Văn Huấn who was a teacher and taught at Petrus Ký High School. His brother was a follower of the

Viet Minh The Việt Minh (, ) is the common and abbreviated name of the League for Independence of Vietnam ( or , ; ), which was a Communist Party of Vietnam, communist-led national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1 ...

and affiliated with the

Vietnamese Fatherland Front The Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF, alternatively Vietnamese Fatherland Front; ) is constitutionally an integral component in the political structure of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and an umbrella group of mass movements and political coa ...

and a vice chairman of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam commonly known as the Viet Cong. http://baocamau.com.vn/nam-thang-khong-quen/tu-hao-%C3%B0ai-tieng-noi-nam-bo-37702.html

References

1890s births 1978 deaths Presidents of Vietnam Prime ministers of Vietnam People from Cần Thơ {{vietnam-politician-stub