Lê Tấn Nguyên

Đáng Kính Nhất Lê Tấn Nguyên CKRNM NCHT HBLRXNC STL GOCQ NNB
Nguyên at the press conference room in the Supreme Assembly Building, Apr. 1997
16th Prime Minister of Quenmin
Assuming office 15 August 1993 – 29 May 2003
Monarch	Lành Chinh
Vice PM	Mạc Ðức Sinh
Succeeding	Ngô Sáng Hiếu
Minister of the National Office of Economic Oversight and Planning
In office 25 September 1980 – 14 October 1992
Prime Minister	Quách Tấn Có Lưu Ðức Tuấn
Deputy	Chu Mạnh Tuấn
Preceded by	Đặng Nam Thông
Succeeded by	Lý Ngọc Huy
Member of the Supreme Assembly for Phan Nghĩa South
In office 6 May 1975 – 23 September 1980
Preceded by	Nguyễn Ðức Tâm
Succeeded by	Giang Quỳnh Lâm
Personal details
Born	(1933-06-24) 24 June 1933 Hoàng Linh Commune, Tiến Hoạt, Phan Nghĩa Province, Quenmin
Political party	Yellow Dragon Party
Other political affiliations	Nationalist Party Blue Unicorn Party
Spouse	Đặng Thúy Quỳnh
Children	Lê Tấn Cường Lê Tấn Kiều Lê Tấn Bích Thoa Lê Tấn Tân Long
Alma mater	Trinh Lieu Han University (B.Econ.) Sung Le Institute of Business and Economics (M.Econ.)
Occupation	Politician, real estate investor
Cabinet	Quách Tấn Có I Quách Tấn Có II

Lê Tấn Nguyên, CKRNM NCHT HBLRXNC STL GOCQ NNB (June 24, 1933) was a politician and real estate investor who was the 16th Prime Minister of Quenmin from 1993 to 2003 in two consecutive terms. Prior to this service, he served as the Minister of the National Office of Economic Oversight and Planning from 1980 to 1990 in the Second Quách Tấn Có cabinet, and Member of the Supreme Assembly of the Royal and Imperial State of Quenmin for Phan Nghĩa South from 1975 to 1980. He is also known as Happy Nguyên due to his recognizable smile.

Nguyên was born in Tiến Hoạt to a middle-class family with his father being a banker. Upon attending university, Nguyên graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics and a minor in business management in 1954 and founded and ran a real estate company in 1968 after obtaining his master's in economics from the Sung Le Institute of Business and Economics. In the wake of the exposure of the government's actions during the 1973 Quenmin Uprisings, Nguyên resigned his position and joined the National Front for Democracy demonstration movement and the Blue Unicorn Party. During Lý Thái Duy's tenure as prime minister, he was a Member of the Supreme Assembly of the Royal and Imperial State of Quenmin and employed as a government official in the Ministry of the National Office of Economic Oversight and Planning, where performed proficiently in both occupations. His quantitative analyses on the national economy were commended and was appointed Minister of the aforementioned department under Quách Tấn Có, which proved pivotal in the economic growth and prosperity observed in the latter's two terms. Nguyên resigned from his office in 1992 after holding several arguments with Lưu Ðức Tuấn, the succeding Prime Minister, over economic and foreign policies, and switched to the Yellow Dragon Party. On 11 August 1993, two days after Tuấn's resignation over a money laundering scandal, Nguyên was elected Prime Minister on 15 August 1993 following his nomination by his Party.

Nguyên's first term was marked by a series of acts in both domestic and foreign policy. In 1994, he organized and and oversaw the passing of the Omnibus Bill of 1994, dubbed the Lê Tấn Nguyên Bill, which reformed corporations, raised the minimum wage by 6 percent, and increased foreign direct investment by lifting restrictions set in by Có and Tuấn. In 1995, he advocated and approved of Quenmin's intervention in the Vartaxian Civil War to protect national interests in the affected country, which lasted for approximately three years. His second term was dominated by domestic policy, where Nguyên applied financial deregulation measures to further boost the private sector and increased healthcare benefit coverages. Quenmin's economy at this time observed growth in GDP from a rate of 2.8 percent to 3.2 percent and inflation stagnating in between 4.8 to 5.3 percent. The final year of his term was marred by the Vạn Thắng Commune Real Estate Controversy and allegations of homophobia (termed the "Two Controveries"), which precipitated his resignation on 29 May 2003. Three days before announcing his resignation, Nguyên was acquitted of the charges of embezzlement and tax evasion stemming from the first dispute.

Despite the controversies he experienced in his last year in office, Lê Tấn Nguyên's tenure as Prime Minister was regarded with praise, with historians and the general public noting the successful policies he endorsed and implemented. His terms observed increased economic prosperity and a resurgence of economic liberalism, and coupled with his public image, his reputation is equated to Có's and is upheld by Quenminese conservatives as their icon. After leaving office, Nguyên's approval rating was 76 percent.

Early Life

Nguyên was born on 24 June 1933 in the Hoàng Linh Commune in the town of Tiến Hoạt to a middle-class family where his father was a banker, and his mother a cafe owner.

Prime Minister

First term (1993 – 1999)

Lê Tấn Nguyên Bill

Main article: Omnibus Bill of 1994

Quenminese intervention in Vartaxia

Main article: Vartaxian Civil War

Quenminese Dotcom Bubble of 2001

Main article: Quenminese Dotcom Bubble

Nguyên upon his return from the state visit to Akashi, 2001.

Personal Life

Nguyên currently lives with his spouse in the coastal town of Sông Cầu.

In their married life, they have nurtured four children, of which are two sons and two daughters.

Awards and Honors

Below is a list of honors received by Nguyên according to order of precedence:

• Orange Kim Khanh of the Ancient, Most Exalted, and Most Auspicious Order of the Imperial Pentacolored Dragon of Quenmin
• Recipient of the Most Respected Emperor Lành Chinh's Royal and Imperial Cypher Medal
• Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Sacred Lotus
• Grand Officer of the Most Auspicious Order of the Royal and Imperial Crown of Quenmin
• Recipient of the Most Illustrious Bai Decoration
• Knight Grand Bai of the Most Exalted and Honourable Order of the Blue Tortoise and a Thousand Scrolls
• Financial Service Medal, First Class
• Financial Service Medal, Second Class