Nguyen Cao Ky

Ky, who was given permission last month by Hanoi to return to Vietnam to celebrate the Lunar New Year festival of Tet, flew into Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat international airport from Bangkok.

His last glimpse of Saigon -- subsequently renamed in honor of the Vietnamese Communist Party's founding father -- had been from an American helicopter April 29, 1975, the day before the city fell to North Vietnamese forces.

The 73-year-old, one of the most senior officials from the U.S.-backed South Vietnamese regime to return to the communist nation, is due to fly to Hanoi on Jan. 28.

Perhaps eager to prevent any embarrassing scenes of jubilation in the former South Vietnamese capital, the Foreign Ministry downplayed his visit, saying it is normal for overseas Vietnamese to return during Tet.

Ky was a key player in the overthrow of President Ngo Dinh Diem in 1963 and after the 1965 military coup became prime minister. Ky was elevated to vice president in a 1967 election.

The Japan Times Weekly: Jan. 24, 2004
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