Phạm Văn Út

Phạm Văn Út (11 November 1925 – 20 April 2002) was a South Vietnamese military officer and politician who served as the last Speaker of the House of Representatives of South Vietnam in April 1975 until the collapse of South Vietnam on 30 April 1975. He was elected as a member of the Lower House in the 1971 South Vietnamese parliamentary election.

Biography He was born on 11 November 1925 to Phạm Văn So and Hồ Thị Định in Sa Đéc, Cochinchina, French Indochina. Prior to becoming a military officer, He attended Trường Võ Bị Quốc Gia Huế/Dalat. Upon completion of his studies and training he began serving in the Vietnamese National Army, before being renamed as the Army of the Republic of Vietnam in 1955. During his military career he was stationed at Sóc Trăng Airfield.

Political career After retiring from the military, he joined politics which he would go on to serve as governor of three provinces and being elected in the 1971 South Vietnamese parliamentary election as a member of the House of Representatives (Lower House) in the National Assembly, representing Ba Xuyên Province. On 27 April 1975, when members of National Assembly convened to vote to transfer the presidency from President Trần Văn Hương to General Dương Văn Minh, he was the sole deputy who voted in opposition to the proposal.

Life in exile On 29 April 1975, the day before the collapse and surrender of South Vietnam, Út and his family fled from the advancing forces of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam and PAVN in which they were transported to an American ship in the South China Sea by helicopter. He was employed at Hewlett-Packard for 15 years, retiring in 1992. He was a member of the Benevolent Association of Nationalist Vietnamese in Colorado and the Association of Elderly Vietnamese in Colorado.

Personal life His second wife is Thach Thi Thu Thuy with whom he had six children (two sons and four daughters). He was previously married and adopted one son. His religious affiliation was Buddhism. He enjoyed fishing, riding his bike, traveling and spending time with friends and family.

He died on 20 April 2002 in Loveland, Colorado.