Vietnam: Phan Thanh Gian, Nguyen Grand Counsellor (1796-1867)

Phan Thanh Giản or Phan Thanh Jan (November 11 1796–1867) was a Grand Counsellor at the Nguyễn court in Vietnam. He led an embassy to France in 1863, and committed suicide when France completed the invasion of Southern Vietnam (Cochinchina) in 1867.

Phan Thanh Giản was one of the foremost mandarins of the Nguyễn court. He played a key role in negotiating the Treaty of Saigon with the French in 1862. The negotiations led to the formal cession of Vietnamese territory that the French Expeditionary Corps had occupied in 1861 (the first parts of the future colony of Cochinchina): the provinces of Già Dinh, Mỹ Tho, Bien Hoa, and the Poulo Condore islands were ceded, and war reparations paid to the French.

Because of his role in these negotiations, Phan Thanh Giản became rather unpopular, both with the Vietnamese population, and with the court of King Tự Đức.

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