| Honorific Prefix: | Professor |
| Nguyễn Xuân Oánh | |
| Office: | Economic advisor to the Prime Minister of Vietnam |
| 1Blankname: | Prime Minister |
| 1Namedata: | Võ Văn Kiệt |
| Term Start: | 1991 |
| Term End: | 1997 |
| Office2: | Member of the National Assembly |
| 1Blankname2: | Constituency |
| 1Namedata2: | Ho Chi Minh City |
| 2Blankname2: | Chairman |
| 2Namedata2: | Lê Quang Đạo |
| Term Start2: | 17 June 1987 |
| Term End2: | 18 September 1992 |
| Office3: | Member of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Vietnamese Fatherland Front |
| 1Blankname3: | Constituency |
| 1Namedata3: | Ho Chi Minh City |
| 2Blankname3: | Chairman |
| 2Namedata3: | Phạm Văn Kiết |
| Term Start3: | 17 June 1987 |
| Term End3: | 18 September 1992 |
| Office4: | Economic advisor to the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam |
| 1Blankname4: | General Secretary |
| 1Namedata4: | Nguyễn Văn Linh |
| Term Start4: | 1986 |
| Term End4: | 1991 Personal advisor (1980 – 1986) |
| Office5: | Prime Minister of South Vietnam Acting |
| Term Start5: | 28 January 1965 |
| Term End5: | 16 February 1965 |
| 1Blankname5: | Chief of State |
| 1Namedata5: | Phan Khắc Sửu |
| Predecessor5: | Trần Văn Hương |
| Successor5: | Phan Huy Quát |
| Term Start6: | 29 August 1964 |
| Term End6: | 3 September 1964 |
| 1Blankname6: | Head of State |
| 1Namedata6: | Dương Văn Minh |
| Predecessor6: | Nguyễn Khánh |
| Successor6: | Nguyễn Khánh |
| Office7: | Deputy Prime Minister of South Vietnam |
| Term Start7: | 8 February 1964 |
| Term End7: | 16 February 1965 |
| Predecessor7: | Position established |
| Office8: | Governor of the National Bank of Vietnam |
| Term Start8: | 8 February 1964 |
| Term End8: | 10 February 1965 |
| 1Blankname8: | Prime Minister |
| Predecessor8: | Nguyễn Ngọc Thơ |
| Successor8: | Trần Văn Khiêm |
| Birth Date: | 14 July 1921 |
| Birth Place: | Phủ Lạng Thương, Tonkin, French Indochina |
| Death Place: | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam |
| Otherparty: | National Social Democratic Front (Big tent affiliation; until 1975) |
| Spouse: | Thẩm Thúy Hằng |
| Children: | [1] |
| Relatives: | Nguyễn Xuân Bái (father) |
| Nickname: | "Jack Owens" |
Nguyễn Xuân Oánh (14 July 1921 – 29 August 2003), nicknamed Jack Owens,[2] [3] was a Vietnamese economist and politician who held senior positions in the governments of both South Vietnam and the current Socialist Republic of Vietnam.[4]
He was born on 14 July 1921 in Phủ Lạng Thương, today Bắc Giang, Tonkin, French Indochina.[5] [6] His father is Doctor Nguyễn Xuân Bái, from Đa Ngưu village, Văn Giang district, Hưng Yên province. He was educated in Western studies since at a young age. His family sent him to Paris, France to be educated at Lycee Albert. After graduating from secondary school, Oánh went on to attain a bachelor's degree in economics at the National College of Japan in 1944. Afterwards he would go on to earn his MA at Kyoto University in 1950. He would go on to pursue his PhD in economics from Harvard University in 1954.
After earning a PhD in economics, Oánh worked for the World Bank Group's IFC and the IMF and taught economics at Trinity College.[7] In 1963, he returned home to South Vietnam and joined the government. Shortly after, he was appointed Governor of the South Vietnamese Central Bank, then Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Vietnam. He also served as acting Prime Minister of South Vietnam in 1964 and 1965.
Unlike most senior leaders of the former South Vietnamese government, Oánh and his family remained in Sài Gòn (Hồ Chí Minh City) after the Fall of South Vietnam in 1975. While senior government officials and military officers of the former Saigon government that stayed behind often endured punishment, either facing execution or being sent to a Communist reeducation camp run by the new Communist government, Oánh was spared from either fates. Instead, he was simply monitored by the new government.
He was also one of the few intellectuals of the former Republic of Vietnam who was well respected by the new Ho Chi Minh City government, led by Mr. Võ Văn Kiệt. Oánh was elected to the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1987[8] and was appointed a member of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Vietnamese Fatherland Front.[9]
He also served as an economic adviser to Prime Minister Võ Văn Kiệt and Communist Party's General Secretary Nguyễn Văn Linh during the Đổi Mới economic reforms.[10]
Dr. Nguyễn Xuân Oánh was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun (3rd Class Honor marked by Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon) in November 1997, becoming the first Vietnamese citizen to receive this award.[11] He was awarded the Harvard Centennial Medal in 1999 by the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
He was married to Thẩm Thuý Hằng, a famous actress and pageant who was awarded the title of Merited Artist of Vietnam. They have twin sons, Nguyễn Xuân Ái Quốc and Nguyễn Xuân Quốc Việt, who owned the coffee chain The Coffee Factory in Ho Chi Minh City.