Nguyen Cao Ky

Ky, Nguyen Cao (nəwē'ĕn kou kē), 1930-2011, premier (1965-67) and vice president (1967-71) of the former Republic of South Vietnam. Flight trained by the French, he returned to Vietnam (1954) and held a series of commands in the South Vietnamese air force. Ky's involvement in President Diem's overthrow (1963) led to his appointment to the air force command. Following a military coup led by Nguyen Van Thieu in 1965, Ky became premier, and was Thieu's vice presidential running mate in the 1967 election. Alienated from Thieu, Ky intended to oppose him in the 1971 elections, but was outmaneuvered and retired from politics. After the Communist takeover in 1975, he settled in the United States, where he published two books, Twenty Years and Twenty Days (1976) and Buddha's Child: My Fight to Save Vietnam (2002), and lectured at various universities.