Mai Hữu Xuân
| Mai Hữu Xuân | |
|---|---|
| Allegiance | Vietnamese National Army, Army of the Republic of Vietnam |
| Years of service | 1940s–1964 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Commands held | National Police (November 1963 – January 1964) |
| Battles/wars | 1963 South Vietnamese coup |
| Other work | Mayor of Saigon (November 1963 – January 1964) |
Major General Mai Hữu Xuân was a general of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and a participant in the November 1963 coup that deposed President Ngô Đình Diệm and ended in his assassination.
Xuân started his career in the Vietnamese National Army of the French-backed State of Vietnam and worked in military security and was made an ARVN general, but was later put into a minor job by Diệm. During the coup against Diệm, Xuân led trainee enlisted men in a successful attack on the headquarters of the National Police, and the secret police. Xuân then led a group that arrested Diệm and his younger brother and chief adviser, Ngô Đình Nhu, after their hiding place was discovered. During the trip back to headquarters, the Ngô brothers were assassinated, leading to a debate over who gave the order.
Prior to 1963, Xuân was a member of the ruling junta, and served as the Mayor of Saigon and the head of the National Police, during which time he was accused of arresting people for ransom. After three months, the junta was overthrown by General Nguyễn Khánh and Xuân was arrested along with Generals Trần Văn Đôn, Lê Văn Kim and Tôn Thất Đính, accused of plotting to make peace with the communists and making South Vietnam a neutral state. Khánh was able to find evidence and his military tribunal convicted them of "lax morality", and being unqualified to command due to a "lack of a clear political concept". Xuân and his colleagues were put under house arrest for a period, before being released and compulsorily retired after a service limit was introduced.
Xuân served under Prime Minister Nguyễn Văn Tâm during the French-backed State of Vietnam era in the 1950s in military security. When Diệm became Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam, Xuân fought for him as an officer in the Vietnamese National Army (VNA) in the Battle for Saigon in May 1955, against the Bình Xuyên organised crime syndicate that sought to take over the capital. The VNA dismantled the Bình Xuyên and Xuân was made a general. Xuân turned against Diệm after he was relegated to a minor job, and he readily joined the plot against Diệm as opposition to his rule grew in 1963.
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