Background
He was the son of the writer Phạm Duy Tốn, and brother of songwriter Phạm Duy.
He was the son of the writer Phạm Duy Tốn, and brother of songwriter Phạm Duy.
In at the lycée Louis-le-Grand from 1929 his circle included Léopold Sédar Senghor and Georges Pompidou. He was briefly ambassador to France for the Ngô Đình Diệm government 1954–1957, but turned down a second appointment as ambassador to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization because of his inability to support Diệm"s policies. He committed suicide on December 2, 1974 at his home in Montreuil-le-Henri, Sarthe.
In his youth, he had said "one must justify his existence on this earth" (il faut justifier sa présence sur cette terre).