South Vietnamese diplomat (1923–2021)
In this
Vietnamese name , the
surname is
Bùi , but is often simplified to
Bui in English-language text. In accordance with Vietnamese custom, this person should be referred to by the
given name ,
Diem (Diễm) .
Bùi Diễm (1 October 1923
[3] – 24 October 2021) was
South Vietnam 's
ambassador to the United States under President
Nguyễn Văn Thiệu from 1965 to 1972,
[4]
[5] then re-appointed
ambassador-at-large and served until 1975.
[6] He played a key role in the last desperate attempt to secure US$700 million in military aid to defend South Vietnam against the
North in 1975.
[7]
Bui Diem was born in
Phủ Lý ,
Hà Nam ,
French Indochina , on October 1, 1923.
[8] He was the nephew of
Trần Trọng Kim , who served as the
Prime Minister of Emperor
Bảo Đại .
[9] Diem had been active in politics since he studied at
Pomelo School and joined the
Nationalist Party of Greater Vietnam in 1944 through the introduction of a friend.
[10]
[11] At age 31, Bui Diem became a member of the delegation to the
1954 Geneva Conference .
[8] He also founded the Saigon Post newspaper in South Vietnam, which operated from 1963 to 1975,
[12]
[13] and was a member of the negotiating team appointed by President
Nguyễn Văn Thiệu at the
Paris Peace Accords .
[14] In 1973, concerned about the threat of the
United States Congress to cut off spending for the
Vietnam War , Diem was sent by President Thieu as a delegation to Washington to set out South Vietnam's position on the peace talks.
[15]
Bui Diem and
Anna Chennault acted as intermediaries between President Thieu and
Richard Nixon in the "Anna Chennault Affair" to delay peace negotiations in Paris,
[16]
[17] creating an opportunity to help then-republican candidate Nixon win the
1968 United States presidential election .
[18]
President Johnson knew this entire plan,
[19] he forced the
FBI ,
CIA , and
NSA to monitor Diem and Anna's activities.
[20]
[21] For his part, Bui Diem repeatedly denied making any deals with the Nixon campaign to sabotage the peace talks.
[22]
After the
fall of Saigon in 1975, he settled in the United States, living in
Rockville, Maryland , and running a Jewish delicatessen.
[23] He wrote articles and worked for the
RAND Corporation , then borrowed money and was a part- owner of Goldberg's Delly in downtown Washington until 1982.
[6]
He was a scholar at the
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and at the
American Enterprise Institute ,
[24] as well as a research professor at
George Mason University .
[7] Bui Diem was interviewed by
Stanley Karnow for
Vietnam: A Television History , where he recounts in a stunning allegation that
Lyndon B. Johnson had unilaterally deployed Marine ground troops into South Vietnam without consulting the South Vietnamese government.
[25]
Bui Diem was the author of the book In the Jaws of History (1987),
[26] and appeared as a witness in
Ken Burns 's series
The Vietnam War , produced by
PBS in 2017.
[27]
[28] He had three children, two daughters and a son.
[8] Diem spoke fluent English and French.
[29] He died in
Rockville, Maryland , on 24 October 2021, at the age of 98.
[30]
References
^
"New South Vietnamese Ambassador To Us Bui Diem Presents His Credentialls To LBJ" .
Associated Press . 30 November 2007.
Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024 .
^
"The Kissinger-Le Duc Tho Negotiations" .
Office of the Historian .
Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024 .
^
"Biographic Report, Republic of Vietnam - Bui Diem - CIA Research Reports" (PDF) .
Vietnam Center and Archive . 29 January 1965.
Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024 .
^ Herring, George C. (19 September 2017).
"Opinion | How Not to 'Win Hearts and Minds' " .
The New York Times .
Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024 .
^ Hagan, Kenneth (April 1998).
"Late Vietnam: Loyalty to Whom?" .
United States Naval Institute .
Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024 .
^
a
b Clarity, James F.; Weaver Jr., Warren (5 January 1984).
"Briefing" .
The New York Times .
Archived from the original on 13 January 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2024 .
^
a
b Gamarekian, Barbara (26 October 1987).
"Washington Talk: Bui Diem; a Voice From Vietnam Hoping to Be Heard" .
The New York Times .
Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024 .
^
a
b
c
The Washington Post (31 October 2021).
"BUI DIEM Obituary (1923 - 2021) - Washington, DC" .
Legacy.com .
Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024 .
^
"Exhibits - Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM)" .
Vietnam Center and Archive .
Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024 .
^ Nguyễn Mạnh, Hùng (16 November 2022).
"Phỏng Vấn Bùi Diễm" .
US-Vietnam Research Center - UO (in Vietnamese).
Archived from the original on 13 January 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2024 .
^
"Politically Significant Groups in South Vietnam" (PDF) .
Central Intelligence Agency . 4 May 1966.
Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 January 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2024 .
^
"The Saigon post | Library of Congress" .
Library of Congress .
Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024 .
^
"The Saigon post - Catalogue" .
National Library of Australia .
Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024 .
^
"Hòa đàm Paris: VN và các cường quốc" .
BBC (in Vietnamese). 22 January 2013.
Archived from the original on 13 January 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2024 .
^ Fox Butterfield Special (5 January 1973).
"Saigon Senators to Lobby in Washington" .
The New York Times .
Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024 .
^ Kettle, Martin (9 August 2000).
"Nixon 'wrecked early peace in Vietnam' " .
The Guardian .
Archived from the original on 13 January 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2024 .
^ Clifford, Clark; Holbrooke, Richard (12 May 1991).
"Serving the President III-The Vietnam Years" .
The New Yorker .
Archived from the original on 13 January 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2024 .
^ O’Sullivan, Shane (26 December 2018).
"The national security adviser who colluded with foreign powers — decades before Michael Flynn" .
The Washington Post .
Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024 .
^ Farrell, John A. (6 August 2017).
"When a Candidate Conspired With a Foreign Power to Win An Election" .
Politico .
Archived from the original on 13 January 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2024 .
^ Locker, Ray (28 May 2015).
"Memo to Nixon detailed his campaign's interference in Paris peace talks" .
USA Today .
Archived from the original on 13 January 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2024 .
^ Farrell, John A. (19 July 2017).
"The real parallel between Nixon and Trump: backdoor pre-election contacts with a foreign power" .
Vox .
Archived from the original on 13 January 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2024 .
^ Veith, George J. (9 May 2022).
"The Anna Chennault Affair: The South Vietnamese Side of the War's Greatest Conspiracy Theory" .
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars .
Archived from the original on 13 January 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2024 .
^ Rosellini, Lynn (15 September 1981).
"Saigon Aide: 'They Say, How Are You, Mr. Goldberg?' " .
The New York Times .
Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024 .
^ Mehren, Elizabeth (4 August 1987).
"Reliving Vietnam: The Next Wave : Vietnamese Voice Begins to Emerge in Books on War" .
Los Angeles Times .
Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024 .
^
"Vietnam: A Television History; Vietnamizing the War (1968 - 1973); Interview with Bui Diem [1], 1981" .
WGBH-TV . 3 June 1981.
Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024 .
^ Tonelson, Alan (13 September 1987).
"Vietnam: What Might Have Been" .
The New York Times .
Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024 .
^ Robinson, Jennifer (17 August 2017).
"THE VIETNAM WAR - A Film By Ken Burns & Lynn Novick" .
KPBS-FM .
Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024 .
^
"Episode 1: Déjà Vu (1858-1961) | The Vietnam War: A Film by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick" .
PBS .
Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024 .
^
"(Est Pub Date) Bui Diem Viet-nam" (PDF) .
Central Intelligence Agency .
Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024 .
^ Quốc, Phương (25 October 2021).
"Cựu Đại sứ VNCH Bùi Diễm qua đời là 'mất mát to lớn không gì thay thế' " .
BBC World Service (in Vietnamese).
Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024 .
Further reading
External links
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