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Madame Nguyễn Văn Thiệu

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(Redirected from Madame Nguyen Van Thieu)
Nguyễn Thị Mai Anh
Official portrait, 1970
First Lady of South Vietnam
In role
31 October 1967 – 21 April 1975
PresidentNguyễn Văn Thiệu
Preceded byTrần Lệ Xuân
Succeeded byLưu Thị Triệu
Personal details
Born(1930-06-20)June 20, 1930[1]
Mỹ Tho, Định Tường Province, French Cochinchina
(now Mỹ Tho, Tiền Giang Province, Vietnam)
Died(2021-10-15)October 15, 2021 (aged 91)
San Diego County, California, U.S.
Spouse
(m. 1951; died 2001)
ChildrenNguyễn Thị Tuấn Anh (daughter)
Nguyễn Quang Lộc (son)
Nguyễn Thiệu Long (son)
RelativesĐặng Văn Quang (uncle)

Nguyễn Thị Mai Anh (20 June 1930[1] – 15 October 2021), commonly known as Madame Nguyễn Văn Thiệu (Vietnamese: Phu nhân Tổng thống Thiệu), served as First Lady of South Vietnam (Vietnamese: Nhất phẩm Phu nhân) from 1967 to 1975.

She was the wife of Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, a Vietnamese general and politician, who served as President of the Republic of Vietnam from 1967 until his resignation in 1975.

Biography

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Early life

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Nguyễn Thị Mai Anh was born on June 20, 1930, in Mỹ Tho town,[1] with saint's name Christine the seventh of ten children in a Catholic family. As her family were wealthy herbal medicine practitioners, she was greatly influenced by the feudal order and family especially in the way she treated people.[2]

In her youth, she and her sister, Tám Hảo, often went to Saigon to study and visit relatives. Due to the family's acquaintance with pharmacist Huynh Van Xuan, who worked at the Trang Hai Apothecary Institute, the two sisters worked as pharmacists at the Roussell Apothecary Institute. Huynh Van Xuan worked as a matchmaker for Nguyễn Văn Thiệu. Mai Anh's uncle, Đặng Văn Quang, was in Da Lat with Thieu, so the relationship was quickly promoted. There were some obstacles because Mai Anh was a Catholic, while Thiệu was Buddhist. They officially wed in 1951. In 1958, Thiệu was baptized as a Catholic. Mai Anh and Thiệu had three children : two sons (Nguyễn Quang Lộc, Nguyễn Thiệu Long) and daughter (Nguyễn Thị Tuấn Anh).[3]

First Lady of South Vietnam

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From 1967 to 1975, her husband reached the peak of power. Unlike First Lady Trần Lệ Xuân, she did not participate in politics at all, but rather engaged in social activities. In 1972, an American working in Vietnam asked for permission to take the name of Mrs. Nguyễn Thi Mai Anh for an orchid Brassolaeliocattleya Mai Anh.[2]

In 1969, she established the Women's Volunteer Service Organization[note 1] towards calling for donations to build an infirmary for low classes and working completely free. So, For-People Hospital was inaugurated at the end of 1971. The contemporary press identified it as the most ultramodern hospitalin whole Southeast Asia.[4] However, after the Fall of Saigon, it has been expropriated to treat high-ranking officials by the new regime. Folks wrote satiric at verse it as "For-Official" hospital[note 2]. Today it is called officially as the Unification Hospital.

A person who served in the Independence Palace under President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu commented that :

I have always held a fondness for the President Madam. She always kept the simple lifestyle of a kind and tolerant woman of the Mekong Delta. To me, Mrs. Thiệu is more of a mother and a brave wife than a First Lady living in the pinnacle of power and luxury. She is typical of the type of woman who grew up in a family fully absorbed a Confucian education (although she is a Catholic) that we often see in Southern society in the 40s. Ms. Thiệu always radiate clarity and joy. She never questioned the behavior of subordinates. Every time we met, she always asked us about our health first, not having time for us to greet her. The special thing is that she never mentioned anything related to Mr. Thiệu's work with us. During my time working here, only once did I hear her complain to Mr. Thiệu in very mild words about a powerful figure at the Presidential Palace while I was standing beside him.[5]

Later life

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Prior to the Fall of Saigon, President Thiệu announced his resignation on television. The family left South Vietnam on 21 April 1975 for Taiwan. They later moved to London before settling in Boston, Massachusetts. Nguyễn Văn Thiệu died on 29 September 2001 of a stroke in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.[6]

Madame Thiệu died on Friday, October 15, 2021, at her own residence in San Diego County, California.[7]

Awards

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Memoirs

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See also

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Notes and references

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Notes

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  1. ^ Hội Phụ-nữ Phụng-sự Xã-hội
  2. ^ Bệnh-viện Vì-Quan-Chức

References

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  1. ^ a b c Who's who in Vietnam 1974 (PDF). Vietnam Press Agency. 1974. p. 756.
  2. ^ a b "Vài hàng nhớ lại bà Nguyễn Thị Mai Anh, Phu Nhân của Tổng Thống Nguyễn Văn Thiệu". cochinchine-saigon.com. 18 April 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  3. ^ "Những bóng hồng của dinh Độc Lập - Bà Mai Anh và những viên thuốc ngủ bọc đường". thanhnien.vn. 26 April 2010. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  4. ^ "'Bệnh viện Vì Dân của bà Thiệu': Tiếng thơm và những tranh cãi Tiếng Việt". BBC News. 2021-10-22. Archived from the original on 2023-04-19.
  5. ^ "Nguyễn Thị Mai Anh và thế giới tâm linh của vợ chồng TT Thiệu". phunutoday.vn. Archived from the original on 2013-04-07. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Nguyen Van Thieu obituary". theguardian.com. October 2, 2001. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  7. ^ Cựu Đệ Nhất Phu Nhân VNCH Nguyễn Thị Mai Anh qua đời, Người Việt, 17 October 2021.
  8. ^ "양국 원수 최고훈장". Dong Ilbo (Naver News Library). 1969-05-28. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
  9. ^ "At the summit in Taipei". Taiwan Today. 1969-07-01. Retrieved 2024-10-22.

Further reading

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Bibliography

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Preceded by First Lady of South Vietnam
1967–1975
Succeeded by
Position abolished