Nguyễn Khánh

Nguyễn Khánh (November 8, 1927 – January 11, 2013) was a South Vietnamese military officer and Army of the Republic of Vietnam general who served in various capacities as head of state and prime minister of South Vietnam while at the head of a military junta from January 1964 until February 1965. He was involved in or against many coup attempts, failed and successful, from 1960 until his defeat and exile from South Vietnam in 1965. Khánh lived out his later years with his family, in exile in the United States, and died of pneumonia and end-stage renal failure at a hospital in San Jose, California, on January 11, 2013.

Early life and education

Khánh was born in Trà Vinh in the Mekong Delta region in the far south of Vietnam. His mother was a property manager in the Central Highlands resort town of Đà Lạt, and lived away from the family home in the deep south. Khánh's father was a wealthy landlord who lived in the Mekong Delta with a mistress, the popular cải lương performer Phùng Há. Khánh was brought up by his de facto stepmother. Trà Vinh is a border town near Cambodia and the family moved between both countries. Khánh began his education in Cambodia and when he grew up, he moved to Saigon to study at an elite French school, boarding with wealthy relatives.