Madame Nhu, one of the last surviving links to the historical figures of the short-lived Republic of Viet Nam (South Vietnam) died in Rome Easter Sunday at the age of 86. Called “the First Lady of Vietnam,” Madame Nhu was not the wife of the President of South Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem, as he was a bachelor. Instead she was the wife of the President’s widely despised and politically heavy-handed brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu, but because of her good looks, flamboyance, quotability and flashy wardrobe she became the woman most often in Viet Nam’s spotlight during her brother-in-law’s term as president.
Madame Nhu is remembered for, amongst many other things, a famous photograph of her shooting a gun while wearing a tight-fitting ao-dai, the Vietnamese traditional garment for women, taken to inspire women to join the war effort and for a tactless reference to “barbecue” when Buddhist monks were immolating themselves on the streets of Saigon in which she said she would, “clap hands at seeing another monk barbecue show, for one cannot be responsible for the madness of others.”
Madame Nhu happened to be in the United States when the military coup toppled her brother-in-law’s regime and assassinated her husband and brother-in-law. Upon hearing the news she immediately accused the American government of involvement in the coup d’etat. Her comments were not believed or taken seriously at the time, however, declassified documents released many years later would prove not only CIA involvement in the coup, but also evidence the CIA was acting with the foreknowledge and acquiescence of the Kennedy White House.
Full story is here.
Madame Nhu’s Wikipedia page is here.
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