Ngô Đình Luyện (1914 – 1990) was a Vietnamese diplomat. He was one of six sons born to affluent Roman Catholic parents and also had three sisters. His father, Ngô Đình Khả, was a

mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

during the French colonial era. Luyện's brothers included Provincial Governor Ngô Đình Khôi, South Vietnamese President

Ngô Đình Diệm Ngô Đình Diệm ( , or ; ; 3 January 1901 – 2 November 1963) was a South Vietnamese politician who was the final prime minister of the State of Vietnam (1954–1955) and later the first president of South Vietnam ( Republic of ...

and Pierre Martin Ngô Đình Thục, the Roman Catholic archbishop of

Huế Huế (formerly Thừa Thiên Huế province) is the southernmost coastal Municipalities of Vietnam, city in the North Central Coast region, the Central Vietnam, Central of Vietnam, approximately in the center of the country. It borders Quảng ...

. Khôi was killed by

Việt Minh The Việt Minh (, ) is the common and abbreviated name of the League for Independence of Vietnam ( or , ; ), which was a communist-led national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Vi ...

insurgents in 1945, who reportedly buried him alive. Diệm appointed Luyện as ambassador to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Diệm and another brother, Ngô Đình Nhu, were executed on 2 November 1963 during a military coup. Another brother,

Ngô Đình Cẩn Ngô Đình Cẩn (; 1911 – 9 May 1964) was the younger brother and confidant of South Vietnam's first president, Ngô Đình Diệm, and an important member of the Diệm government. Diệm put Cẩn in charge of central Vietnam, stretching f ...

, was captured a few days later and eventually sentenced to death and executed. Luyện was able to escape assassination because he was in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

at the time. Luyện and Thục were the only brothers to survive the political upheavals in Vietnam.Video Interview with Ngô Đình Luyện
WGBH Media Library & Archives, 31 January 1979

References

Ngo family Vietnamese Roman Catholics Vietnamese people of the Vietnam War Ambassadors of Vietnam to the United Kingdom 1914 births 1990 deaths Date of birth unknown Date of death unknown Place of death missing {{Vietnam-diplomat-stub