Bảo Đại

Bảo Đại was the thirteenth and last emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, and the last monarch of Vietnam. He became emperor in name in 1926 at thirteen, while being educated in France, and was enthroned in 1932. The title was largely empty. Annam and Tonkin were French protectorates and a résident supérieur governed in fact. He attempted reforms on his return and was blocked. In March 1945 the Japanese swept away the Vichy French administration and kept him in place, and under their authority he proclaimed the Empire of Vietnam. That lasted until Japan surrendered. He abdicated in August 1945 in favour of the Viet Minh, handing the imperial seal to Ho Chi Minh's representatives, and said he would rather be a citizen of an independent country than the ruler of an enslaved one. He briefly served Ho as supreme adviser before leaving for Hong Kong. The French then brought him back. From 1949 to 1955 he was chief of state of the anti-communist State of Vietnam, an office designed to give the French war a Vietnamese face. He spent much of the period on the Riviera, and the association with France and with absence destroyed what standing he had. His own prime minister, Ngo Dinh Diem, deposed him in a rigged referendum in 1955 that returned an implausible 98 per cent against him. He lived the rest of his life in exile in France and died in Paris in 1997. His regnal name means keeper of greatness. He converted to Catholicism in 1988 and was buried in Passy cemetery in Paris.

• Lived: 1913 CE – 1997 CE
• Nationality: Vietnamese
• Roles: ruler