Nguyen Khanh

Nguyen Khanh (born November 8, 1927, Tra Vinh, Vietnam, French Indochina—died January 11, 2013, San Jose, California, U.S.) was a military and political leader who participated in a successful coup d’état against the South Vietnamese dictator, Pres. Ngo Dinh Diem, in 1963 and served briefly as president of South Vietnam in 1964.

Khanh served in the French colonial army until 1954 and rose through the ranks of the Vietnamese army to become chief of staff to Gen. Duong Van Minh. He joined Minh and other high military officials in assassinating Diem on November 1, 1963, and led a countercoup against Minh in 1964. Khanh served variously as president or prime minister of South Vietnam in January–October 1964; he briefly held both posts. His regime was undermined by several coups, and he himself resigned once. After four junior officers took control of the government in February 1965, Khanh was named roving ambassador but was, in effect, exiled to the United States. He settled in California, where he later served as the head of a government-in-exile.