Trần Ngọc Liễng
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Trần Ngọc Liễng (1923 – 9 October 2011) was a Vietnamese prominent attorney-at-law and a legal scholar in
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
.


Education

He completed the French Preparatory School
Petrus Ký Petrus may refer to: People * Petrus (given name) * Petrus (surname) * Petrus Borel, pen name of Joseph-Pierre Borel d'Hauterive (1809–1859), French Romantic writer * Petrus Brovka, pen name of Pyotr Ustinovich Brovka (1905–1980), Soviet Belar ...
with French Baccalaureate II Diploma ranking Excellent - "Mention Bien" recognition (at that time during the French colonization, there was only 1 "mention Bien" each year for the entire country & there was no "Mention Très Bien" during this era) . He attended and graduated from the French established Law School in Sàigòn (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 ...
, Viet Nam), and began his legal practice with two senior and prominent Attorney-at-Law
Nguyễn Hữu Thọ Nguyễn Hữu Thọ (; 10 July 1910 – 24 December 1996) was a South Vietnamese politician, revolutionary and Chairman of Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam from 6 June 1969 to 2 July 1976, and the Chairman ...
and Nguyễn Lâm Sanh - former House Speaker of South Vietnam government- Chủ Tịch Hạ Nghị Viện cũa Đệ Nhất Cộng Hòa. Many of Trần classmates were successful politicians such as Prime Minister
Võ Văn Kiệt Võ Văn Kiệt (; 23 November 1922 – 11 June 2008"E ...
, South Vietnam Chief of Justice of Supreme Court, and many other Justices & Cabinet members of various government regimes.


Family

Trần is a direct descendant / oldest son of an aristocrat family (his father was "Ông Phán/Ông Huyện Trần Văn Vỹ – "Sage Femme d’État" - Vice-Director of the General Hospital in Vĩnh Long" Vietnam). He was born in 1923 province Long Hồ, County Châu Thành, City Vĩnh Long of South Viet Nam. His mother was Lê Thị Thơm, eldest daughter of wealthy Village Chief in the
Mekong Delta The Mekong Delta ( or simply ), also known as the Western Region () or South-western region (), is the list of regions of Vietnam, region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong, Mekong River River delta, approaches and empties into the sea th ...
area in the city of Vũng Liêm. Trần is brother-in-law of South Việtnam High Ranking Navy "Flag Officer" Khương Hữu Bá that held positions of Superintendent of the South Vietnamese Naval Academy and Fourth Coastal Zone Naval Commander & Army Regiment Military Special Zone Commander. Trần was married to a well-educated lady - daughter of an aristocrat French trained Engineer- her parents are known as Mr. & Ms. Tửu from Vĩnh Long.


Legal practice and political life

After graduating from law school, Tran joined the law firm of Nguyễn Hữu Thọ (later became President of ViêtNam) and Nguyen Lam Sanh (Trần and Nguyễn married the two sisters). He successfully litigated many high-profile cases at lower courts, appeal courts, and the South Vietnam Supreme Court. He gained national international recognition for defending the poor, the wrongful accused victims, and became a political icon against the corrupted South Vietnam First Republic of
Ngo Dinh Diem 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 V ...
. His brother in-law Nguyen Lam Sanh became Speaker of the House of South Vietnam under the First Republic of Ngô Đình Diệm, jointly they opposed the South Viet Nam corrupted government. Attorney-at-Law Trần Ngọc Liễng, was well respected by US. Attorney-General
Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also known as RFK, was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 64th United States attorney general from January 1961 to September 1964, and as a U.S. senator from New Yo ...
, Vice-Presidential candidate, Minister of HUD and Social Affairs under Prime Minister
Nguyễn Cao Kỳ Nguyễn Cao Kỳ (; 8 September 1930 – 23 July 2011) was a South Vietnamese military officer and politician who served as the chief of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force in the 1960s, before leading the nation as the prime minister of Sout ...
for over half a century ago. Opposing a government that supported war time, corrupted system, and ignoring lives of the poor, Tran and the majority of the cabinet members resigned from Prime Minister Kỳ’s government.


Declassified CIA document is as follows

At a meeting held at the Joint General Staff Headquarters at 1700 hours on 18 October 1966, attended by Prime Minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ, Minister of Information and Open Arms Nguyen Bao Tri, Director General of National Police Nguyen Ngoc Loan, and III Corps Commander General Le Nguyen Khang, the decision was reached to accept the resignations which had been previously submitted by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Luu Vien, and the Ministers of Education, Social Welfare, Youth, Communications and Transport, Labor, and Economy. The six members of the cabinet who recently agreed to delay their resignations from the cabinet, at least until after the Manila Conference, again submitted their resignations on 17 October. In addition, Minister of Finance and Economy Au Truong Thanh has threatened to resign if the situation surrounding the arrest by Brigadier General Nguyen Ngoc Loan of the Directeur de Cabinet of the Ministry of Health is not satisfactorily resolved. Minister of Labor Nguyen Huu Hung, Minister of Education Nguyen Van Truong, Minister Tran Ngoc Lieng, and Thanh, who are members of the delegation planning to attend the Manila Conference, have threatened not to go to Manila. During the period of 1974-75, Trần pioneered in negotiating for a Viet Nam Peace Treaty in Paris, France which is known as the "Paris Treaty". Toward the end of the conflict and immediately after the nucleus South Viet Nam government collapsed,
Nguyễn Văn Thiệu Nguyễn Văn Thiệu (; 5 April 1923 – 29 September 2001) was a South Vietnam, South Vietnamese military officer and politician who was the Leaders of South Vietnam, president of South Vietnam from 1967 to 1975. He was a general in the Repub ...
,
Nguyễn Cao Kỳ Nguyễn Cao Kỳ (; 8 September 1930 – 23 July 2011) was a South Vietnamese military officer and politician who served as the chief of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force in the 1960s, before leading the nation as the prime minister of Sout ...
left Viet Nam to seek Political asylum in abroad, the government of
Trần Văn Hương Trần Văn Hương (; 1 December 1902 – 27 January 1982) was a South Vietnamese politician who was the penultimate president of South Vietnam for a week in April 1975 before its surrender to the communist forces of North Vietnam. Before asc ...
and followed by
Dương Văn Minh Dương Văn Minh (; 16 February 19166 August 2001), popularly known as Big Minh, was a South Vietnamese politician and a senior general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and a politician during the presidency of Ngô Đình Diệm. ...
resigned and surrendered, thus the war ended. Trần was pioneer in negotiating for a peaceful turn-over with intention to avoid destruction of Saigon and bloodshed of innocent people. The entire process was interviewed and recorded. Declassified CIA documents about Vietnam war also show reports from American ambassador reporting to the Johnson and Nixon administration that "The Intellectual and Prominent Lawyer Tran Ngoc Lieng is the only hope for South Vietnam to have a free elected government that truly cares for its citizens, anything else would be a loss cause for South Vietnam".


Life in retirement

After 2 decades of war, Vietnam was united between North and South. Tran was pioneered in rewriting the country laws for fairness, justice, and protection for the people of Viet Nam. After the 1990s, Trần became a full-time Buddhist monk. Trần's official
Dharma name A Dharma name is a new name acquired during both lay and monastic Buddhist initiation rituals in Mahayana Buddhism and Pabbajjā, monastic ordination in Theravada Buddhism (where it is more proper to call it Dhamma or Sangha name). The name is ...
was changed to
bhikkhu A ''bhikkhu'' (, ) is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male, and female monastics (''bhikkhunī''), are members of the Sangha (Buddhist community). The lives of all Buddhist monastics are governed by a set of rules called the pratimok ...
Thích Kiến Huyền. The remaining years of Trần was practicing the religion and philosophy of Buddha teaching with sincerest belief which is to escape the circle of life. He died at 13:30 on 9 October 2011 at Thường Chiếu Zen Monastery, Province 1, Phước Thái village, Long Thành district, Đồng Nai, at the age of 90 years.


Quotes

* "Love for your country supersedes anyone selfish love for himself."


Books

* * *


External links


Phỏng Vấn Luật Sư Trần Ngọc Liễng về Tháng 4 Năm 1975
* Trường Pétrus Ký
Báo Herald Journal -6 November 1972

Báo Mới - Sàigon, VN




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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tran, Ngoc Lieng 1923 births 2011 deaths Vietnamese people of the Vietnam War Vietnamese Buddhists People from Vĩnh Long province People educated at Le Hong Phong High School