Nguyễn Văn Lộc (24 August 1922 – 31 May 1992) was a South Vietnamese educator, lawyer, and politician who served as Prime Minister of South Vietnam between 9 November 1967 and 18 May 1968. His wife, Nguyễn Thị Mai, would be the subject of a biography, Black Silk Pajamas in 2000. Lộc attempted to leave Vietnam 14 times before successfully making it to Singapore in May 1983 as a refugee. He died in Paris, France in May 1992 at the age of 69. Early life and education Nguyễn Văn Lộc was born on 24 August 1922, in Long Chau village, Chau Thanh district - Vinh Long, (now Vinh Long City, Vinh Long Province) to a wealthy family. He obtained a bachelor's degree in law from the University of Montpellier, France in 1954 and a master's degree in criminal law from the University of Paris, France in 1964. Early career In 1945, he participated in the Anti-French War of Resistance, commonly known as the First Indochina War, which he served as the editor-in-chief of an underground newspaper called La Lutte. After realizing the communist nature of the Việt Minh, he left and returned to Saigon, publishing and printing newspapers. Political career Since 1955, he has been a lawyer of the Saigon High Court. In 1964, Lộc was elected Chairman of the Civil-Military Council (Hội Đồng Dân Quân, the legislature during the transition from a military government to an elected government). In 1967, Nguyễn Cao Kỳ invited Lộc to join him in the 1967 South Vietnamese presidential election as his running mate, being the vice presidential candidate. After deciding to run jointly with Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, being his running mate as the vice presidential candidate, Kỳ asked Lộc to withdraw. To compensate Lộc, Kỳ asked Thiệu to appoint Lộc as the prime minister of the government. Prime Minister of South Vietnam (1967-1968) In November 1967, he was appointed by President Thiệu to be the first Prime Minister of the Second Republic of Vietnam. In mid-November 1967, Prime Minister Lộc presented his cabinet: Foreign Minister: Doctor Trần Văn Đỗ Defense Minister: Lieutenant General Nguyễn Văn Vy Interior Minister: Lieutenant General Linh Quang Viên Minister of Rural Construction: Lieutenant General Nguyễn Đức Thắng Economic Minister: Trương Thái Tôn Finance Minister: Lưu Văn Tính Minister of Culture and Education: Professor Tăng Kim Đồng Minister of Labor: Professor Phó Bá Long Minister of Health: Doctor Trần