Trần Thiện Khiêm

Prime Minister and Four-Star General Trần Thiện Khiêm was born on December 15, 1925 in Saigon, South Vietnam and passed away peacefully from natural causes in San Diego, California, on June 23, 2021. His celebration of life service was held on July 9, 2021 in San Diego, presided by a catholic priest, as he had converted from Buddhism to Catholicism, and was baptized in San Jose in 2018.

He loved his country and joined the army when he was 20 years old. While serving in the army, he commanded many military units, including the 21st Division, the 5th Division, the IV Army Corps, and was also Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Republic of South Vietnam. He was also a graduate of the U.S. Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He finished his military career as a full Four-Star General, only one of three such generals in the Republic of South Vietnam. Then, he became Ambassador to the United States and then to Taiwan, before returning to South Vietnam to assume the role of Interior Minister, Defense Minister, Deputy Prime Minister & Defense Minister, and finally Prime Minister & Defense Minister until April 1975.

Prime Minister and General Trần Thiện Khiêm is beloved by family, friends, and colleagues. Those who worked with him respected his love for South Vietnam, his integrity, and his sense of duty for public service. His beloved wife Đinh Thủy Yến, whom he married in 1950, passed away in 2004. He is survived by a younger sister, a daughter, a son, seven grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

The family would like to extend our deepest and most sincere appreciation for your love, respect, and support for Prime Minister and General Trần Thiện Khiêm, who was a loving, caring, and kind son, brother, cousin, husband, father, father-in-law, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle, great-uncle, friend, colleague, teacher and leader to all of us.

The Trần Thiện Khiêm family