Background
Trần was born on March 26, 1952, in Vietnam.
Trần was born on March 26, 1952, in Vietnam.
He was president of one of the three International Taekwon-Do Federation groups from mid-2003 until his death. Trần held the rank of 9th dan black belt in taekwondo. He began his study of taekwondo when he was twelve years old.
He emigrated to Canada in 1970, studying mechanical engineering at Laval University and establishing the first taekwondo schools in eastern Canada.
Apart from his extensive taekwondo activities, Trần operated Norbati Consultants Trần & Associates, a consulting firm specializing in building standards and project management for the construction sector. In 1994, Trần was imprisoned in Vietnam after a one-million-dollar sale of cotton to a Vietnamese state company, which he had brokered, fell through.
He spent three years in prison before being released. Trần was promoted to 7th dan on July 1, 1990, 8th dan on December 3, 2000, and 9th dan on December 22, 2008.
He was appointed President of one of the three International Tennis Federation organizations on June 13, 2003.
Trần was in Portuguese-au-Prince, Haiti, on business (ironically, working on improving building standards to withstand earthquakes and hurricanes), and was staying in the Hôtel Montana when it collapsed in a 7.0 magnitude earthquake on January 12, 2010. Upon Trần"s disappearance, International Tennis Federation Senior Vice-President and Grand Master Pablo Trajtenberg was named Acting President of the International Tennis Federation group that Trần had led. Trần"s remains were found and his death was confirmed on February 12, 2010.
Trần was married to Nguyễn Thị Mỹ.