Tran Thien Khiem Military person
General Trần Thiện Khiêm was an officer in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. During the 1960s he was involved in several coups. He helped President Ngô Đình Diệm put down a November 1960 coup attempt and was rewarded with promotion. In 1963 he was involved in the coup that deposed and assassinated Diêm. He later joined with Nguyễn Khánh to stage a successful January 1964 coup. In the next few months, the Catholic Khiêm fell out with Khánh, whom he accused of being too heavily influenced by Buddhist activists. Khiêm tried to plot against Khánh, but was thwarted. He was implicated in the organization of the September 1964 coup attempt by Generals Lâm Văn Phát and Dương Văn Đức, both of whom were also Catholic, and was sent into exile to serve as Ambassador to the United States. In February 1965, Colonel Phạm Ngọc Thảo, who had accompanied him to Washington had returned to Saigon and launched a coup with Phát. This was done with Khiêm's support. The coup failed but other officers took the opportunity to force Khánh into exile. Khiêm would return to Vietnam when the political climate among the generals was more favourable and became Prime Minister under President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, resigning only in the last month before the fall of Saigon.
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Military person
| allegiance | Vietnamese National Army Army of the Republic of Vietnam |
|---|---|
| military operations | |
| military command | 21st Division (1960–1962) Chairman of the Joint General Staff (1964) III Corps (1964) Chief of Staff of the armed forces (1962–1963) |
| service start | 1947 |