Bao Dai

Bao Dai (bou dī), 1913–97, emperor of Annam (1926–45) and chief of state of Vietnam (1949–55). Born Prince Nguyen Vinh Thuy, he was the son of Emperor Khai Din and succeeded to the throne in 1926, but did not occupy it until 1932. Bao Dai cooperated with both the Vichy French and Japanese during World War II, but in 1945 the Viet Minh nationalists under Ho Chi Minh forced his resignation. The emperor returned in 1949 as head of the new state of Vietnam, which included Annam plus Tonkin and Cochin China. After Vietnam's partition (1954) he accepted Ngo Dinh Diem as prime minister. In 1955 Diem engineered a referendum that abolished the monarchy and assumed control. Bao Dai subsequently lived in exile, primarily in France.

---

Bao Dai

 orig. Nguyen Vinh Thuy

(born Oct. 22, 1913, Vietnam—died Aug. 1, 1997, Paris, France) Last reigning emperor of Vietnam (r. 1926–45, 1949–55). He was educated in France and in 1926 succeeded to a throne that was dominated by the French. Retained as a powerless ruler under the Japanese during World War II, he fled the country after the Viet Minh drove the Japanese out. In 1949 the French, having agreed to the principle of an independent Vietnam, invited him to return as sovereign. He did, but he accomplished little and retired to France in 1955 when a national referendum called for the country to become a republic.