Nguyen Ton Hoan

Dr. Nguyễn Tôn Hoàn (; 1 May 1917 – 19 September 2001) was a South Vietnamese Catholic politician, originally a physician, who led the Đại Việt Quốc Dân Đảng (Nationalist Party of Greater Vietnam) from the 1940s to the 1960s. He was active in South Vietnamese politics during that time, serving briefly as Deputy Prime Minister in 1964.

Early career He was born in Tây Ninh province, Vietnam on 1 May 1917. He studied medicine at the University of Hanoi, where he became involved in student politics. In 1939, he helped found the Đại Việt Quốc Dân Đảng (Nationalist Party of Greater Vietnam).

When the Việt Minh gained a foothold over northern Vietnam in 1946, he fled to China, then under the rule of Chiang Kai-shek's nationalist Kuomintang, hiding under the deck of a junk. Hoàn returned to Saigon — where the Việt Minh did not exercise the tight control they possessed in the north—in 1947 to continue his political activism.

According to Hoàn and Diệm, the objective of the purpose of the VNA was to mobilise support for a new political movement under Bảo Đại, who had been forced to abdicate by the Việt Minh during the August Revolution and went into overseas exile. Bảo Đại then tried to recruit politicians such as Hoàn to provide him with a conduit to power. The French also wanted to work with Bảo Đại so that he would lend more legitimacy to their colonial presence in Vietnam. Hoàn's Đại Việt initially cooperated with Bảo Đại, hoping Vietnam would move towards increased autonomy and eventual independence.

Exile In 1954, Diệm was appointed prime minister by Bảo Đại. In the first year, Diệm's government was unstable as various groups including the Hòa Hảo and Cao Đài religious sects and the Bình Xuyên organised crime syndicated vied for power. After his attempt to take power failed, he fled to France. Diệm banned the Đại Việt and forced its leaders into exile or hiding. widely interpreted as a reference to Hoan's Đại Việt. In November 1963, General Dương Văn Minh led a coup against Diệm, resulting in the assassination of the president. However, three months later, General Nguyễn Khánh deposed Minh in a bloodless coup.

Hoàn lobbied for an Ethnic Minorities Ministry, anti-corruption drives, land reform, and free elections with a transition to civilian rule. This put him increasingly in conflict with the junta and the Americans, who were more interested in turning Khánh into a strong leader to fight the communists. Hoàn lost his weekly Sunday radio slot. U.S. officials believed Khánh needed to make regular speeches to establish political support among the populace. The general agreed and took over Hoàn's slot.

Feeling marginalised, Hoàn began to undermine the Khánh regime. He publicly accused Khánh and the United States of ignoring him, and began to join forces with their critics. In mid-June 1964, Roman Catholic demonstrations broke out, in response to protests by Buddhists. Hoàn covertly supported some of the more vigorous Catholic agitators, who accused Khánh and Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. of "fomenting religious discrimination" against Catholics by the Buddhist majority. Hoàn tried to mobilise support among Dai Viet members and supporters among the officer corps, in an attempt to overthrow Khánh. However, the conspiracy never got off the ground, as the plotters feared that the Americans would support their regime if they managed to take power, making it impossible for them to rule.

Later life In September, Khánh forced Hoàn to resign. The Đại Việt leader went to Japan and then returned to France. In 1965, Hoàn had a dispute with French President Charles de Gaulle over the country's Vietnam policy and immigrated to the U.S. Hoàn taught Vietnamese at American military complexes and later opened a Vietnamese restaurant in Mountain View, California. He continued his political activism against the Vietnamese communist government.

Death Hoàn died on 19 September 2001, in Mountain View, California at age 84. He had been married to Phan Thi Binh. The couple had two sons and three daughters.