List of ambassadors of Vietnam to the United States
The Vietnamese Ambassador to the United States is the official representative of the Vietnamese government to the government of the United States. The embassy is located at the Lion Building and the ambassador resides in Washington, D.C. at 2251 R Street, Northwest.
Ambassador of Vietnam to the United States | |
---|---|
Incumbent Nguyễn Quốc Dũng since February 16, 2022 | |
Inaugural holder | Tran Van Kha |
Formation | July 1, 1952 |
From the 1950s to May 23, 1975, the residence of the ambassador hosted the embassy of South Vietnam, when it was closed.[1][2] It later donated its film reel collection to the Library of Congress.[3]
List of ambassadors
Term Start | Term end | Ambassador | Vietnam ruler | U.S. President | Biography |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
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July 1, 1952 | Unknown | Trần Văn Khá | Bảo Đại | Harry S. Truman | Born 1894 in Cochinchina.
Tran Van Kha lived in France from 1911 to 1925. After returning to Hanoi, he occupied himself with educational problems. From 1926 to 1945, he was a member of the Colonial Council (Conseiller de l' Assemblée de l'Union Française pour le Viêtnam). In 1939, he became Vice President of the Colonial Council. He turned his attention to economics and became a member of the Municipal Council of Saigon. The ex-Emperor Bảo Đại appointed him to be the Vietnamese ambassador to the United States on March 3, 1952.[4] |
August 16, 1954 | Unknown | Trần Văn Chương | Ngo Dinh Diem | Dwight D. Eisenhower | Trần Văn Chương (1898–1986) was from a prominent Vietnamese family. His father was Tran Van Thong, governor of Hải Dương Province, and his mother was Bui Thi Lan, sister of Bui Quang Chieu, who in 1923 founded the Đảng Lập hiến Đông Dương (Constitutional Party). Chuong was also the younger brother of Trần Văn Đỗ (1903–1990), who served as South Vietnam's Foreign Minister from 1965 to 1967.
In July 1954, Tran Van Chuong became the minister of state in Ngo Dinh Diem's first government but was quickly sent to Washington to replace Tran Van Kha as the Vietnamese ambassador. He remained ambassador until his resignation on August 22, 1963, amid the Buddhist Crisis and immediately after the Xá Lợi Pagoda raids.[5] |
December 15, 1964 | Unknown | Trần Thiện Khiêm | Phan Khắc Sửu | Lyndon B. Johnson | Born December 15, 1925 in Saigon. He was from a Roman Catholic family and was the godson of Archbishop Ngô Đình Thục.[6] |
December 16, 1965 | Unknown | Vũ Văn Thái | Nguyễn Văn Thiệu | Born January 26, 1919, in Hanoi. He was the Director General of the Budget and Foreign Aid.
He attended secondary school in Vietnam. From 1939 to 1944, he attended Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufacturers, Paris (licence es sciences). From 1944 to 1946, he attended the National Center of Scientific Research, Paris, on scholarship. From 1946 to 1949, he was the Laboratory Chief, National. He was married to a French woman, the former Simone Garoute; they had three daughters.[7] | |
January 19, 1967 | Unknown | Bùi Diễm | Born 1923 in Phu Ly. The son of a scholar who had supported the patriotic movement led by Phan Chu Trinh and later held several important posts in the Communist-dominated government of North Vietnam, Diêm graduated from the prestigious Thăng Long School in Hanoi and then studied in France. He later held several important posts in the RVN.[8] | ||
June 16, 1972 | 1972 | Nguyen Hoan | Richard Nixon | Chargé d'affaires ad interim[9] | |
July 21, 1972[9] | May 21, 1975 | Trần Kim Phượng | Born November 5, 1926, in Hanoi. He holds degrees in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Paris, and in International Relations from the Sciences Po, Paris. The embassy closed on May 21, 1975.[9] | ||
Fall of Saigon, no diplomatic relations (1975–1997) | |||||
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May 14, 1997[9][10] | 2001 | Le Van Bang | Võ Văn Kiệt | Bill Clinton | Born June 30, 1947, in Ninh Binh Province. Married, two children.[11] |
October 10, 2001[9] | 2007 | Nguyen Tam Chien | Phan Văn Khải | George W. Bush | Born January 20, 1948, in Nghe An Province. Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (Engineering University, Soviet Union; 1972), Master of Arts in International Relations (Moscow Diplomacy Academy; 1984). Married, three children.[12] |
January 22, 2008[10] | 2011 | Le Cong Phung | Nguyễn Minh Triết | Born February 20, 1948, in Thanh Hoa Province. Married, two children.[13] | |
July 7, 2011[10][14] | 2014 | Nguyen Quoc Cuong | Barack Obama | Born October 6, 1959, in Hanoi. University of Foreign Affairs (1981), Master of Arts in International Relations (Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy; 1997). Married, two children.[15] | |
February 23, 2015[10] | 2018 | Pham Quang Vinh | Born in 1958, grew up in Hanoi. University of Foreign Affairs (1980), Master of Arts in International Relations (University of Canberra; 1985). Married to Hoang Bich Lien, two children.[16][17][18] | ||
September 17, 2018[19] | February 16, 2022 | Hà Kim Ngọc | Trần Đại Quang | Donald Trump | Born 1963 in Hanoi. Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (1985), Master of Arts in International Relations (DAV; 2010). Married to Nguyen Thi Phuong Lien, two children.[20][21] |
Nguyễn Phú Trọng | |||||
Joe Biden | |||||
Nguyễn Xuân Phúc | |||||
February 16, 2022[22] | Present | Nguyễn Quốc Dũng | Nguyễn Xuân Phúc | Joe Biden |
References
- "The Vietnam Embassy In Washington Closes". The New York Times. 1975-05-24. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
- Lippman, Thomas W. (1995-01-28). "U.S. AND VIETNAM AGREE TO OPEN LIAISON OFFICES'". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
- "Vietnam on Film and Television, Appendix 1". www2.iath.virginia.edu. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
- Tran Van Kha
- Trần Văn Chương
- Trần Thiện Khiêm
- Vu Van Thai
- Bùi Diễm
- "Diplomatic Representation for Socialist Republic of Vietnam". U.S. State Department. December 5, 2014. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
- "Timeline". Embassy of Vietnam in the U.S. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
- "Ambassador Le Van Bang (1995 - 2001)". Embassy of Vietnam in the U.S. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
- "Ambassador Nguyen Tam Chien (2001 - 2007)". Embassy of Vietnam in the U.S. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
- "Ambassador Le Cong Phung (2008 - 2011)". Embassy of Vietnam in the U.S. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
- "Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Cuong presented credentials to U.S President Barack Obama (7th Jul 2011)". July 7, 2011. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
- "Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Cuong (2011-2014)". Embassy of Vietnam in the U.S. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
- "Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh (2014 - 2018)". Embassy of Vietnam in the U.S. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
- "Vietnam's Ambassador to the United States: Who Is Pham Quang Vinh?". AllGov. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
- "OralHistory". www.westpointcoh.org. April 6, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
- "Diplomatic Corps Order of Precedence and Dates of Presentation of Credentials". U.S. State Department. October 30, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
- "Ambassador Ha Kim Ngoc". Embassy of Vietnam in the U.S. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
- Cari (September 30, 2018). "October 2018". The Washington Diplomat. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
- "Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Dzung | Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the United States". vietnamembassy-usa.org. Retrieved 2022-12-23.