Bảo Đại

Born Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy in 1913, he ascended as Bảo Đại in 1932 while Annam and Tonkin were French protectorates. When Japan ousted the Vichy French in March 1945, they ruled through him; he proclaimed the Empire of Vietnam, then abdicated in August after Japan surrendered. In 1949 he returned as chief of state of the anti-communist State of Vietnam, but critics called him a French puppet who spent most of his time abroad. Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm, backed by the United States, ousted him in a 1955 referendum. He died in 1997.