| Post: | Ambassador |
| Body: | Vietnam to the United States |
| Incumbent: | Nguyễn Quốc Dũng |
| Inaugural: | Trần Văn Khá |
The Vietnamese Ambassador to the United States is the official representative of the Vietnamese government to the government of the United States. The embassy is located at the Lion Building and the ambassador resides in Washington, D.C. at 2251 R Street, Northwest.
From the 1950s to May 23, 1975, the residence of the ambassador hosted the embassy of South Vietnam, when it was closed.[1] [2] It later donated its film reel collection to the Library of Congress.[3]
| Term Start | Term end | Ambassador | Vietnam ruler | U.S. President | Biography |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ambassadors of the State of Vietnam / Republic of Vietnam | |||||
| Trần Văn Khá | Bảo Đại | Harry S. Truman | Born 1894 in Cochinchina. Tran Van Kha lived in France from 1911 to 1925. After returning to Hanoi, he occupied himself with educational problems. From 1926 to 1945, he was a member of the Colonial Council (Conseiller de l' Assemblée de l'Union Française pour le Viêtnam). In 1939, he became Vice President of the Colonial Council. He turned his attention to economics and became a member of the Municipal Council of Saigon. The ex-Emperor Bảo Đại appointed him to be the Vietnamese ambassador to the United States on March 3, 1952.[4] | ||
| Trần Văn Chương | Ngô Đình Diệm | Dwight D. Eisenhower | Trần Văn Chương (1898–1986) was from a prominent Vietnamese family. His father was Tran Van Thong, governor of Hải Dương Province, and his mother was Bui Thi Lan, sister of Bui Quang Chieu, who in 1923 founded the Đảng Lập hiến Đông Dương (Constitutional Party). Chuong was also the younger brother of Trần Văn Đỗ (1903–1990), who served as South Vietnam's Foreign Minister from 1965 to 1967. In July 1954, Trần Văn Chương became the minister of state in Ngô Đình Diệm's first government but was quickly sent to Washington to replace Trần Văn Khá as the Vietnamese ambassador. He remained ambassador until his resignation on August 22, 1963, amid the Buddhist Crisis and immediately after the Xá Lợi Pagoda raids.[5] | ||
| Trần Thiện Khiêm | Phan Khắc Sửu | Lyndon B. Johnson | Born in Saigon. He was from a Roman Catholic family and was the godson of Archbishop Ngô Đình Thục.[6] | ||
| Vũ Văn Thái | Nguyễn Văn Thiệu | Born January 26, 1919, in Hanoi. He was the Director General of the Budget and Foreign Aid. He attended secondary school in Vietnam. From 1939 to 1944, he attended Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufacturers, Paris (licence ès sciences). From 1944 to 1946, he attended the National Center of Scientific Research, Paris, on scholarship. From 1946 to 1949, he was the Laboratory Chief, National. He was married to a French woman, the former Simone Garoute; they had three daughters.[7] | |||
| Bùi Diễm | Born 1923 in Phu Ly. The son of a scholar who had supported the patriotic movement led by Phan Châu Trinh and later held several important posts in the Communist-dominated government of North Vietnam, Diêm graduated from the prestigious Thăng Long School in Hanoi and then studied in France. He later held several important posts in the RVN.[8] | ||||
| Nguyen Hoan | Richard Nixon | Chargé d'affaires ad interim | |||
| Trần Kim Phượng | Born November 5, 1926, in Hanoi. He holds degrees in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Paris, and in International Relations from the Sciences Po, Paris. The embassy closed on May 21, 1975. | ||||
| Fall of Saigon, no diplomatic relations (1975–1997) | |||||
| Ambassadors of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam | |||||
| Le Van Bang | Võ Văn Kiệt | Bill Clinton | Born June 30, 1947, in Ninh Binh Province. Married, two children.[9] | ||
| [10] | Nguyen Tam Chien | Phan Văn Khải | George W. Bush | Born January 20, 1948, in Nghe An Province. Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (Engineering University, Soviet Union; 1972), Master of Arts in International Relations (Moscow Diplomacy Academy; 1984). Married, three children.[11] | |
| Le Cong Phung | Nguyễn Minh Triết | Born February 20, 1948, in Thanh Hoa Province. Married, two children.[12] | |||
| [13] [14] | Nguyen Quoc Cuong | Barack Obama | Born October 6, 1959, in Hanoi. University of Foreign Affairs (1981), Master of Arts in International Relations (Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy; 1997). Married, two children.[15] | ||
| Pham Quang Vinh | Born in 1958, grew up in Hanoi. University of Foreign Affairs (1980), Master of Arts in International Relations (University of Canberra; 1985). Married to Hoang Bich Lien, two children.[16] [17] [18] | ||||
| [19] | February 16, 2022 | Hà Kim Ngọc | Trần Đại Quang | Donald Trump | Born 1963 in Hanoi. Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (1985), Master of Arts in International Relations (DAV; 2010). Married to Nguyen Thi Phuong Lien, two children.[20] [21] |
| Nguyễn Phú Trọng | |||||
| Joe Biden | |||||
| Nguyễn Xuân Phúc | |||||
| February 16, 2022[22] | Present | Nguyễn Quốc Dũng | Nguyễn Xuân Phúc | Joe Biden |