Mrs. Ngo Ba Thanh

Mrs. or Madame Ngo Ba Thanh (Ba Thanh Ngo), Ba-Thanh Ngo, Ngo-Ba Thanh, or Ms. Thanh. The only source which accurately follows Vietnamese naming conventions is Van Nguyen-Marshall's ''Between War and the State'', which uses her first name of Vân. |group="Note"}} was the professional name of Phạm Thị Thanh Vân (25 September 1931 – 3 February 2004), a Vietnamese lawyer, politician, and anti-war and women's rights activist. Born in the northern part of French Indochina, she married at 18 and completed her legal studies at the University of Paris, Columbia University, and the University of Barcelona. Returning to South Vietnam in 1963 during the Vietnam War, she first worked as the chief legal advisor to Ngo Dinh Diem's administration. After his assassination, she became a professor of law at Saigon University and was active in the feminist and peace movements.

Vân's vocal opposition to the policies of President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu led to surveillance by the national police and numerous arrests. In 1970, she founded the Vietnamese Women's Movement for the Right to Live, an anti-war neutralist movement which supported neither the US-backed government in the south nor the northern communist regime. Using her wide international contacts with groups such as the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and Women Strike for Peace, Vân brought international attention to the social and economic issues created by the war, which increased international opposition to the conflict. As a member of the and vice president of the Vietnamese People's Front Struggling for Peace, she pressed for demobilization, an immediate withdrawal of American troops and funding for the South Vietnamese government, and creation of a democratic society.

After the defeat of South Vietnam by the North Vietnamese in 1975, Vân became one of the few non-communists who were elected to the unified National Assembly of Vietnam. She served four terms in office and during her tenure assisted in the creation of the 1980 and 1992 Constitutions and in revisions to the legal code. She was chair of the Law Reform Committee from 1987 to 1991 and served as vice president of the Vietnam Lawyers Association. She was also the Southeast Asia executive representative for WILPF, having been elected to the post in 1989. Vân wrote publications evaluating Vietnamese law and legal systems and was recognized internationally for both her legal expertise and activism. Provided by Wikipedia