Vũ Văn Mẫu (; 25 July 1914 – 20 August 1998) was a South Vietnamese diplomat and politician, who was the last Prime Minister of South Vietnam, serving under President

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. ...

's leadership in 1975. He held the position for only two days before the collapse and surrender of

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

on 30 April 1975.

Early life and career

He was born on 25 July 1914 in

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

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 ...

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 doctorate in law from the Faculté de droit de Paris and practiced law in Hanoi. After Vietnam’s partition in 1954, he moved to

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 ...

with his family and joined the Faculty of Law at the University of Saigon, where he became the Dean of the Faculty. He was recognized as an expert in civil and historical law. After several years as a professor he then became a local Saigon judge, rising through the ranks to become Judge of the Saigon Superior Court. During his legal career and even during retirement and exile, he authored a number of books, including one entitled ''Vietnamese Civil Law''.

Political career

After carrying out the referendum of South Vietnam in 1955, deposing the Chief of State Bảo Đại and the State of Vietnam. Then Prime Minister

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 ...

established a new government,

Republic of Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the French Union, with it ...

which Diệm proclaimed himself as president and invited Mẫu to hold the position of Foreign Minister of the Republic of Vietnam. He held this position for eight years, from 1955 to 1963. During the Buddhist crisis of 1963, he resigned on August 22, 1963, shaving his head like a monk in protest. He strongly opposed the fierce repressive measures of the Ngô Đình Diệm's government against

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

. When he attempted to leave the Republic of Vietnam to join a pilgrimage to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, he was arrested and placed under house arrest. Mẫu was South Vietnam's 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 ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in the mid- to late 1960s. In the early 1970s, he was elected Senator of the Republic where he became a prominent national politician.

Prime Minister of South Vietnam (1975)

On 28 April 1975, he became Prime Minister of the Republic of Vietnam under President

. During his tenure, he was always active in the movement for peace and reconciliation for the nation. Therefore, when General Dương Văn Minh became president, he was nominated for the post of Prime Minister of the

for the purpose of participating in negotiations to end the war. However, he was only in office for only two days when the Republic of Vietnam collapsed before the advancing army of the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam. He had to join President

and Vice President

Nguyễn Văn Huyền Nguyễn Văn Huyền ( vi-hantu, 9 December 1913 – 1995) was a Vietnamese lawyer and politician, who served as the last Leaders of South Vietnam, Vice President of South Vietnam in April 1975.Hoàng Cơ Thụy. ''Việt sử khảo luận'' ...

in declaring their unconditional surrender to avoid further bloodshed.

Post–Fall of Saigon and exile

Like General Dương Văn Minh, he was a moderate, supporting the policy of handing over the government to the Liberation Army. Therefore, the Revolutionary government only implemented monitoring measures, not being strict with him. After the situation stabilized, Mẫu was allowed to leave the country to immigrate to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1988 and settled there for the rest of his life. He died on August 20, 1998, in Paris, aged 84.

Personal life

Mẫu was married and had five children, whom all resided in France. His daughter, Vũ Thị Việt Hương, followed her father's profession in law, by obtaining a Doctorate of Law at Saigon Law University. After graduating she returned to her old school to teach, specializing in

International Law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

and

Comparative Law Comparative law is the study of differences and similarities between the law and legal systems of different countries. More specifically, it involves the study of the different legal systems (or "families") in existence around the world, includ ...

. Mẫu was a great scholar of Vietnamese law, a veteran scholar, he knows many languages and was fluent in English, French,

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, and Chinese and was very highly regarded as a professor of law. His work is also cited by René David and John E.C. Brierley in the famous book on comparative law ''Major Legal Systems in the World Today.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vu, Van Mau 20th-century Vietnamese lawyers South Vietnamese politicians Prime ministers of South Vietnam Vietnamese anti-communists 1914 births 1998 deaths People from Hanoi Ambassadors of South Vietnam to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of South Vietnam to Belgium Ambassadors of South Vietnam to the Netherlands