Lâm Nguơn Tánh

Rear Admiral Lâm Nguơn Tánh (born 1928, Sadec, Vietnam) was the last Chief of Naval Operations of the Republic of Vietnam Navy during the Vietnam War. In 1974, he took part in the Battle of Hoang Sa between China.

He gained asylum in the United States after the Fall of Saigon in April 1975 and worked as a naval architect at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren, Virginia. A devout Anti-Communist, he continues to work with Vietnamese exile groups.

Highlights of naval career
Saigon Merchant Marine Academy, 1948

The Republic of Vietnam Naval Academy, 1952

United States Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, 1958

United States Naval Shipyard Management School in Pearl Harbor, 1960

United States Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, 1965

United States National Defense Management College in Monterey, California, 1973

Commander of RVN Navy Eastern Riverine Forces Command. 1954

Commander of RVN Navy Sea Forces Command and Fleet Command, 1955

RVN Navy Chief of Staff (two terms) 1963 and 1965

Commander of RVN Naval Shore Establishments and Schools Command, 1959

Commandant of the Saigon Naval Shipyard, 1960

Deputy to the Deputy Chief of General Joint Chief of Staff for Navy Operations, 1965

Commandant and Founder of the RVN Armed Forces Political Warfare College, 1965

Vice-Chief of Naval Operations, 1970

Chief of Naval Operations, 1975 (for over 3 months)

His honors include the National Order of Vietnam, 4th Degree of the Republic of Vietnam.

Activities in exile
In April 1975, Rear Admiral Lam and his wife left Vietnam after the fall of Saigon. They eventually settled in King George, Virginia. Rear Admiral Lam served the U.S. Defense Department (Department of Navy) for more than 20 years as a naval architect at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Virginia.

From 1981-1985, he was Secretary General of the Republic of Vietnam Veterans Association. From 1989-1991, he founded the Vietnamese Navy General Association and was the first-term Chairman. Since 1997, he has served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs of an exiled anti-communist organization The Government of Free Vietnam. In 2000, he became the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of National Defense. In August 1997, he founded the Free Vietnam Coalition Party and serves on the Member Central Leadership Council. He is the founder of Vietnamese Navy General Association and First Term Chairman. In 2005, he was elected as Prime Minister of The Government of Free Vietnam.