He was also the uncle of then South Vietnam's First Lady Trần Lệ Xuân, commonly known as Madame Nhu.

He studied in France, obtained a medical doctor degree from the University of Paris.

He decided not to sign the Geneva Agreement because he did not accept the division of Vietnam[2] and on behalf of the Vietnamese National Delegation issued a separate statement: "...the Vietnamese government requests the Conference to officially acknowledge that Vietnam solemnly opposes the signing of the Agreement and its provisions that do not respect the deep aspirations of the Vietnamese people.

Request the Conference to acknowledge that the Government grants itself the right to complete freedom of action to protect the sacred rights of the Vietnamese people in the process of realizing Unification, Independence, and Freedom for the country.

After the Fall of Saigon, he took asylum in France as a political refugee where lived quietly for the remainder of his life.