Nguyễn Cao Kỳ, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Nguyễn Cao Kỳ

Vietnamese politician and general

Date of Birth: 08-Sep-1930

Place of Birth: Sơn Tây, Vietnam

Date of Death: 23-Jul-2011

Profession: military personnel, politician

Nationality: Vietnam

Zodiac Sign: Virgo


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About Nguyễn Cao Kỳ

  • Nguy?n Cao K? (listen; 8 September 1930 – 23 July 2011) served as the chief of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force in the 1960s, before leading the nation as the prime minister of South Vietnam in a military junta from 1965 to 1967.
  • Then, until his retirement from politics in 1971, he served as vice president to bitter rival General Nguy?n Van Thi?u, in a nominally civilian administration.Born in northern Vietnam, K? joined the Vietnamese National Army of the French-backed State of Vietnam and started as an infantry officer before the French sent him off for pilot training.
  • After the French withdrew from Vietnam and the nation was partitioned, K? moved up the ranks of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force to become its leader.
  • In November 1963, K? participated in the coup that deposed president Ngô Ðình Di?m and resulted in Di?m's assassination. In 1964 K? became prominent in junta politics, regarded as part of a group of young, aggressive officers dubbed the "Young Turks".
  • Over the next two years, there were repeated coup attempts, many of which were successful, and K? was a key player in supporting or defeating them.
  • In September 1964, he helped put down a coup attempt by Generals Lâm Van Phát and Duong Van Ð?c against Nguy?n Khánh, and the following February he thwarted another attempt by Phát and Ph?m Ng?c Th?o.
  • His favored tactic in such situations was to send fighter jets into the air and threaten large-scale air strikes, and given his reputation for impetuosity, he usually attained the desired backdown.
  • After the latter attempt, he also had the weakened Khánh forced into exile and eventually took the leading position in the junta in mid-1965 by becoming prime minister, while General Thi?u was a figurehead chief of state.
  • During his period at the helm, he gained notoriety for his flamboyant manner, womanizing, and risky and brash behavior, which deeply concerned South Vietnam's American allies and angered the Vietnamese public, who regarded him as a "cowboy" and "hooligan".
  • He cared little for public relations, and on occasion publicly threatened to kill dissidents and opponents as well as to flatten parts of North Vietnam and South Vietnamese units led by rival officers with bombings, although none of this materialized. Nevertheless, K? and Thi?u were able to end the cycle of coups, and the Americans backed their regime.
  • In 1966 K? decided to purge General Nguy?n Chánh Thi, another officer in the junta regarded as his greatest rival, from a command role.
  • This provoked major unrest, particularly in South Vietnam, where some units joined with Buddhist activists supportive of Thi and hostile to K? in defying his junta's rule.
  • Three months of large-scale demonstrations and riots paralyzed parts of the country, and after much maneuvering and some military battles, K?'s forces finally put down the uprising, and Thi was exiled, entrenching the former's grip on power. In 1967, a transition to an elected government was scheduled, and after a power struggle within the military, Thi?u ran for the presidency with K? as his running mate—both men had wanted the top job.
  • To allow the two to work together, their fellow officers had agreed to have a military body controlled by K? shape policy behind the scenes.
  • The election was rigged to ensure that Thi?u and K?'s military ticket would win, and strong executive powers meant that junta, in effect, still ruled.
  • Leadership tensions persisted, and Thi?u prevailed, sidelining K? supporters from key military and cabinet posts.
  • Thi?u then passed legislation to restrict candidacy eligibility for the 1971 election, banning almost all would-be opponents; K? and the rest withdrew as it was obvious that the poll would be a sham; Thi?u went on to win more than 90 percent of the vote and the election uncontested, while K? retired.
  • With the fall of Saigon, K? fled to the United States.
  • He continued to heavily criticize both the communists and Thi?u, and the former prevented him from returning.
  • However, in 2004, he became the first South Vietnamese leader to return, calling for reconciliation between communists and anti-communists.

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