Tran Thien Khiem

An Army of the Republic of Vietnam general, Tran Thien Khiem was involved in both the November 1963 and January 1964 coups. Commander of the Saigon area, which later became III Corps tactical zone, he did not believe he had been given enough credit by the Military Revolutionary Council and "Big" Minh, so joined Nguyen Khanh's subsequent coup.

Khanh, Minh and Khiem formed a triumvirate, althugh Khanh was reported "ill" a week later. Nguyen Xuan Oanh, an economist, was then named Deputy Prime Minister, over Buddhist calls for all-civilian government.

Khiem was sent away to be Ambassador to the U.S., a prestigious post but well out of the power struggle.

He came back to South Vietnam in May 1968, and became Minister of the interior under Thieu, and then co-prime minister. While his history did not encourage trust in his allegiance, he seemed useful. By June, however, he was building his own political organization, and giving relatives key jobs. Khiem became Prime Minister in 1969, with many allegations of his group's financial dealings, including possible drug involvement. Eventually, Thieu and Khiem began countercharging over financial matters, but really as means of political infighting.