Let them burn and we shall clap our hands. - Madame Nhu

About Madame Nhu

Madame Nhu (April 15, 1924 – April 24, 2011), also known as Madame Ngô Đình Nhu and born Trần Lệ Xuân, was considered the First Lady of South Vietnam from 1955 to 1963. In 1943, she married Ngô Đình Nhu, and converted from Mahayana Buddhism to Roman Catholicism, her husband's religion. She was influential on government policy and, since her brother-in-law Ngô Đình Diệm was unmarried, was regarded as the "First Lady" of Vietnam. Madame Nhu was sometimes called the "Dragon Lady". She often caused controversy because of her strong anti-Buddhist, pro-Catholic ideology. On November 1, 1963 her brother-in-law and her husband were assassinated in a coup d'état led by General Dương Văn Minh with the understanding that the United States would not intervene. At that time she was in the United States. The military government of Vietnam under General Dương Văn Minh confiscated all of her family's property in Saigon and she was not allowed to return to South Vietnam. She lived in exile in Europe until her death.

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