Lê Văn Viễn
Lê Văn Viễn | |
|---|---|
| Governor of Saigon-Cholon | |
| In office 22 April 1952 – 21 May 1954 | |
| Prime Minister | Trần Văn Hữu Nguyễn Văn Tâm Bửu Lộc Ngô Đình Diệm |
| Chief of State | Bảo Đại |
| Preceded by | Himself (as Mayor of Sai Gon-Cholon) |
| Mayor of Saigon-Cholon | |
| In office 6/1948 – 22 April 1952 | |
| Chief of State | Bảo Đại |
| Succeeded by | Himself (as governor) |
| Chief of Bình Xuyên | |
| In office 1946–1954 | |
| Preceded by | Dương Văn Dương |
| Supreme commander of Resistance Forces in Saigon-Cholon | |
| In office November 1945 – December 1946 | |
| General commander of Southern Resistance Forces | Nguyễn Bình |
| Deputy commander of Warzone 7 | |
| In office December 1946 – June 1948 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1904 Saigon, Cochinchina, French Indochina |
| Died | 1972 (aged 67–68) Paris, France |
| Awards | National Order of Vietnam |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Việt Minh (until 1948) State of Vietnam |
| Branch/service | Infantry, Việt Minh, Vietnamese National Army |
| Years of service | 1945–55 |
| Rank | Major-général (Thiếu Tướng) |
| Battles/wars | First Indochina War |
Major General Lê Văn Viễn (Vietnamese: [lē vāŋ vǐəŋˀ]; 1904–1972), also known as Bảy Viễn ("Viễn the Seventh"), was the leader of the Bình Xuyên, a powerful Vietnamese criminal enterprise decreed by the Head of State, Bảo Đại, as an independent army within the Vietnamese National Army (Quân đội Quốc gia Việt Nam). Viễn's career trajectory was quite unique in coming from a criminal background to become a (non-Communist) leader of the Việt Minh's Zone 7, then later named a General, in charge of an auxiliary military force within the French Union, and, finally, named a General in the VNA. From 1951–55, he made arrangements with Bảo Đại, by which the Bình Xuyên was given control of their own affairs in return for their financial support of the government. In 1955, Viễn flew to Paris with the help of Antoine-Marie Savani and the Deuxième Bureau/SDECE after his unsuccessful attempt to oust the American-backed Premier, Ngô Đình Diệm.