Dr. Phan Huy Quát served as acting Prime Minister

Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

 of the State of Vietnam

State of Vietnam

The State of Vietnam was a state that claimed authority over all of Vietnam during the First Indochina War, and replaced the Provisional Central Government of Vietnam . The provisional government was a brief transitional administration between colonial Cochinchina and an independent state...

 and also as Prime Minister of the Republic of Vietnam

Leaders of South Vietnam

This is a list of leaders of South Vietnam, since the establishment of the Autonomous Republic of Cochinchina in 1946 until the fall of the Republic of Vietnam in 1975.-Autonomous Republic of Cochinchina :-Republic of South Vietnam :...

.

Biography

On July 2, 1949, Dr. Phan Huy Quát was appointed Minister of Education by Head of State Bảo Đại

Bảo Đài

Bảo Đài is a commune and village in Lục Nam District, Bac Giang Province, in northeastern Vietnam.-References:...

.

On January 22, 1950, Prime Minister Nguyễn Phan Long

Nguyen Phan Long

Nguyễn Phan Long served as Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam in January 1950. He was dismissed in May 1950 by the Emperor Bao Dai under pressure from the French colonial authorities, who resented his pro-American and nationalist attitude....

 appointed Dr. Quát Minister of Defense. He had only served briefly before the Cabinet was organized at which time he returned to working for the Đại Việt Quốc Dân Dảng

Dai Viet Quoc Dan Dang

Đại Việt Quốc dân đảng , often known simply as Đại Việt, was a nationalist and anti-communist political party and militant organisation that was active in Vietnam in the 20th century. The party was founded by Trương Tử Anh, known as Anh Cả Phương...

.

Three years later, in June 1953, Prime Minister Nguyễn Văn Tâm

Nguyen Van Tam

Nguyễn Văn Tâm served as Minister in the Nguyễn Dynasty. His son is General Nguyễn Văn Hinh, the Chief of Staff of the Vietnamese National Army...

, aka. "Tiger of Cai Lay", appointed Dr. Quát Minister of Defense. Quát would be in this position until 1954 when Prince Bửu Lộc became Prime Minister who appointed Quát Special Minister in charge of the democratization process for Vietnam. Dr. Quát then served briefly as an interim Prime Minister until Bảo Đại appointed Ngô Đình Diệm

Ngo Dinh Diem

Ngô Đình Diệm was the first president of South Vietnam . In the wake of the French withdrawal from Indochina as a result of the 1954 Geneva Accords, Diệm led the effort to create the Republic of Vietnam. Accruing considerable U.S. support due to his staunch anti-Communism, he achieved victory in a...

 to the position.
On February 16, 1965, Quát was appointed Prime Minister by junta head General Nguyễn Khánh

Nguyen Khanh

Nguyễn Khánh is a former general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam who variously served as Head of State and Prime minister of South Vietnam while at the head of a military junta from January 1964 until February 1965. He was involved in or against many coup attempts, failed and successful,...

, who was forced to step down after a coup on February 19–20 and exiled Air Marshal

Air Marshal

Air marshal is a three-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...

 Nguyễn Cao Kỳ

Nguyen Cao Ky

Nguyễn Cao Kỳ served as the chief of the Vietnam Air Force in the 1960s, before leading the nation as the prime minister of South Vietnam in a military junta from 1965 to 1967...

 then led the junta that oversaw the civilian cabinet.

In 1965, Nguyễn Cao Kỳ was appointed Prime Minister and Nguyễn Văn Thiệu

Nguyen Van Thieu

Nguyễn Văn Thiệu was president of South Vietnam from 1965 to 1975. He was a general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam , became head of a military junta, and then president after winning a fraudulent election...

 became President by a special joint meeting of military leaders following the voluntary resignation of civilian President Phan Khắc Sửu

Phan Khac Suu

Phan Khắc Sửu was President of South Vietnam from 1964–1965.-Biography:He was an octogenarian, a trained agricultural engineer and was a member of the Cao Đài religion.He was a member of Emperor Bảo Đại’s political cabinet....

. After leaving the Prime Minister post, Dr. Quát returned to his medical practice. He remained in politics until 1975 by working with the Asia Anti-Communist League (Liên Minh Á Châu Chống Cộng) as Chairman of its Vietnamese office.

After the Fall of Saigon

Fall of Saigon

The Fall of Saigon was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front on April 30, 1975...

, Dr. Quát went into hiding. In August 1975, he was arrested and jailed at Chí Hòa

Chi Hoa

Chí Hòa Prison is a functioning Vietnamese prison located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The prison is an octagonal building on a 7-hectare site consisting of detention rooms, jail cells, prison walls, watchtowers, facilities and prisoner's farmlands. The prison is one of 12 national prisons in...

 prison after a failed attempt to escape from Vietnam. It was there that he died of liver failure on April 27, 1979. The official report indicated that Dr. Quát died of "a stroke, heart attack and liver failure".