Bao Dai
Bao Dai was born in 22nd October, 1913 in the name of prince Vinh Thuy. He succeeded his father, Khai Dinh on the throne of Vietnam in 1925 and adopted the Bao Dai name. Till he grown up, the governor panel of Hue (center of Annam) did his duties, meanwhile he was learning in France. He returned in 1932 and reign as a puppet emperor. After the Japanese overthrew the French regime, he was offered to be a leader of a country with limited sovereignty. After the defeat of the Japanese, he resigned as a result of the pressure of the Viet Minh and accepted the supreme counselor title of Democratic Republic of Vietnam. He collaborated with Ho Chi Minh for a while, but he was soon exiled to Hong Kong.
In 1946, the French-Vietnamese war broke out. The French tried to call him back to be the leader of the anticommunist Southern government, that gave the Northern a new choice. He tried to use his influence to obtain a agreement on the union of the independent Vietnam that was brought into existence later. In 1949, he became the emperor of Saigon. It was agreed that the French is allowed to control the organizations. During his four-year reign, he didn't obtain any significant result and couldn't win the people around. In the agreement in Geneva in 1954, Vietnam was divided into two parts, South and North. Ngo Dinh Diem, the prime minister of South Vietnam held a referendum to elect a leader for South-Vietnam, Bao Dai didn't participate. The 90% of the voters voted for Diem so that he was the president from 1956.
Bao Dai retired to France, and lived there till his death, 31st July, 1997.