Truong Dinh Dzu

Who is Truong Dinh Dzu?

Trương Đình Dzũ was a Vietnamese lawyer and politician who unsuccessfully ran as a candidate for the presidency in the 1967 elections against Nguyen Van Thieu and his running mate Nguyen Cao Ky, who were the leaders of the incumbent military junta. In a poll rigged by Thieu and Ky, Dzu won 17% of the vote on a platform of negotiating with the National Liberation Front for South Vietnam. Politicians advocating coexistence with communists were not allowed to register, Dzũ remained silent on his policies until his candidacy was registered.

Dzu and other opposition candidates alleged vote fraud after the poll, but he was arrested after the election on grounds of making illicit currency transactions and jailed by a military court for five years of hard labor. Due to international criticism, he was released after five months.