Bảo Đại

Emperor of Vietnam

Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy 22 October 1913 Doan-Trang-Vien Palace, Huế, French Indochina

30 July 1997(1997-07-30) (83) Val-de-Grâce, Paris, France

Era datesBảo Đại (保大) (1926–1945)

Vietnamese emperor In the Vietnamese name below, Nguyễn Phúc is the surname. Emperor of Vietnam Emperor Bảo ĐạiEmperor of VietnamReign8 January 1926 – 25 August 1945PredecessorKhải ĐịnhSuccessorMonarchy abolishedChief of State of VietnamReign13 June 1949 – 26 October 1955PredecessorPosition created Nguyễn Văn Xuân (as head of the provisional government)SuccessorNgô Đình Diệm (as president of the Republic of South Vietnam)BornNguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy (阮福永瑞) (1913-10-22 ) 22 October 1913 Doan-Trang-Vien Palace, Huế, French IndochinaDied30 July 1997(1997-07-30) (aged 83) Val-de-Grâce, Paris, FranceBurialPassy CemeterySpouseNam Phương ​(m. 1934⁠–⁠1963)​ Hoàng Phi Ánh Bùi Mộng Điệp Christiane Bloch-Carcenac Monique Baudot ​(m. 1972⁠–⁠1997)​IssueLegitimate Bảo Long (1934–2007), Phương Mai (1937–2021), Phương Liên (1938), Phương Dung (1942), Bảo Thắng (1943–2017). Unrecognized Phương Thảo (1946), Phương Minh (1949–2012), Bảo Ân (1953), Bảo Hoàng (1954–1955), Bảo Sơn (1957–1987), Phương Từ (1955), Patrick-Édouard Bloch-Carcenac (1958).HouseNguyễn dynastyFatherKhải ĐịnhMotherHoàng Thị CúcReligionRoman Catholic Mahayana BuddhismSignature Bảo Đại (Vietnamese:  , Hán tự: 保大 , lit. "keeper of greatness", 22 October 1913 – 30 July 1997), born Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy, was the 13th and final emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last ruling family of Vietnam. From 1926 to 1945, he was emperor of Annam, which was then a protectorate in French Indochina, covering the central two thirds of the present-day Vietnam. Bảo Đại ascended the throne in 1932. The Japanese ousted the Vichy French administration in March 1945 and then ruled through Bảo Đại, who renamed his country "Vietnam". He abdicated in August 1945 when Japan surrendered. From 1949 to 1955, Bảo Đại was the chief of state of the State of Vietnam (South Vietnam). Viewed as a puppet ruler, Bảo Đại was criticized for being too closely associated with France and spending much of his time outside Vietnam. He was eventually ousted in a referendum in 1955 by Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm, who was supported by the United States.