Lâm Văn Phát

Lâm Văn Phát
Allegiance	Vietnamese National Army, Army of the Republic of Vietnam
Years of service	19??–1965
Rank	Major General
Commands held	2nd Division (June 1961 – June 1963) 7th Division (December 1963 – February 1964) III Corps (February 1964 – September 1964)
Battles/wars	September 1964 South Vietnamese coup attempt, February 1965 South Vietnamese coup attempt
Other work	Interior Minister (removed September 1964)

Major General Lâm Văn Phát (c. 1927–1998) served as an officer in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). He is best known for leading two coup attempts against General Nguyễn Khánh in September 1964 and February 1965. Although both failed to result in his taking power, the latter caused enough instability that it forced Khánh to resign and go into exile.

A member of the Roman Catholic minority, Phát joined the French-backed Vietnamese National Army which became the ARVN after the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) was established. After having been sent to the U.S. for further training in 1958, Phát returned home to head the Civil Guard, a paramilitary force then mostly used to protect the ruling family of President Ngô Đình Diệm, rather than to counteract the communist Việt Cộng insurgency. Later commanding the 2nd Division, he was known for his loyalty to Diệm, who favored fellow Catholics. In 1963, Diệm knew some of the generals were about to launch a coup against him. He appointed Phát to command the 7th Division, located near the capital, Saigon, so he could help in the fighting, but the plotters successfully used delaying tactics so that the paperwork for the transfer of the division leadership could not occur before they proceeded to overthrow and execute Diệm. Despite Phát's pro-Diệm allegiance he was promoted to brigadier general and given command of the 7th Division.

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