Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam
The Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam was created on March 14 1886 in the ancient Vietnamese city of Hue, by Emperor Dong Khanh of the Imperial House of Annam, upon the "recommendation" of the President of France as a jointly awarded French colonial order. During this period (particularly during the era of Dong Khanh), Vietnam was ruled by the French.
The Order was originally created to reward and acknowledge those outstanding individuals who had performed both military and, non-military services to the Imperial Vietnamese House of Annam.
In 1976, after the fall of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the Order was abolished by the Communist government of the day, however it was never a communist award and the "fons honorum" always rested with the Imperial House of Annam.
At times during its honoured and revered history the Order of the Dragon of Annam was also bestowed by the French Colonial Government, and later the Republic of South Vietnam. However, the Order always was, and to this day remains the real, personal and dynastic property of the Imperial Vietnamese House of Annam.
Throughout its entire history, the Order was also bestowed by the French Colonial Government. When French colonial rule over Indochina ended, the Order of the Dragon of Annam was abolished and replaced by the National Order of Vietnam which was later retained and revised by the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). The ribbon of the Dragon of Annam was retained for this award, but it was (belatedly) recognized that a colonial order had no place in the new regime which was trying (unsuccessfully) to encourage Vietnamese popular support for the southern government. Throughout the history of the order it became too associated with the period of French rule. Even the name of "Annam" in the title of the order was a point of dishonor as the name comes from the old Chinese term for Vietnam, which means "the peaceful south".
Prince Buu Chanh of Vietnam, son of the Emperor Duy Tan, was appointed by the late Crown Prince Bao Long to serve as the Grand Master of the Order in 2005, and currently serves under the authority of His Imperial Highness Prince Bao Thang of Vietnam, the Crown Prince's brother and successor as Head of the Imperial Nguyen Dynasty. The focus of the order is on humanitarian, educational, and cultural endeavours of the people of Vietnam.
Goal of the Order
The Order will henceforth focus on humanitarian, educational, and cultural endeavors rather than political goals. The Imperial Family wishes to remain out of the political fray and expects that Order will focus on efforts to aid the poor and disenfranchised people in Vietnam as well as outside the country, with particular emphasis given to children, the elderly, and the disabled. [1]
NOTE
In late 2004, a new Grand Master announced himself to the world. This (non-speaking), part Vietnamese gentleman attempted to organise a mirror organisation based on the Order of Saint Lazarus. This gentleman is the natural son of the late Emperor His Imperial Majesty Duy Tan. Such an organisation is non-Vietnamese and was set up initially by a small group of several very crass Americans, none of whom had ever spent a day in the military, and all of whom it should be noted went to great lengths to avoid being drafted during the Vietnam War. This group were also involved with the Hanoi government in an attempt to obtain communist honours for themselves, much to the disgust of the Vietnamese Diaspora.
The wife of His Imperial Majesty Duy Tan died without issue.