Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Huyen was born on November 16, 1905 in Lai Xa village, Kim Chung commune, Hoai Duc district, Ha Tay province. In 1926, his family sent him to study abroad in France. At the age of 20, he passed the Baccalaureate part I then July 1928, passed the Baccalaureate part II. After that, in July 1929, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts; July 1931, Bachelor of Laws from the Sorbonne University; and February 1934, Doctor of History and Geography. During his time in France, he taught at the School of Oriental Languages.

Portrait of the late Minister Nguyen Van Huyen

On February 17, 1934, he became the first Vietnamese to excellently defend his doctoral thesis in literature at the Sorbonne University, Paris. The main thesis is "Singing between young men and women in Vietnam" and the minor thesis is "Introduction to the study of stilt houses in Southeast Asia". The chair of the judging committee - Professor Vendryès, considers it "a memorable event in the history of the Sorbonne".

In 1935, he returned to Vietnam to work as a professor at the Bưởi School, and taught together with his close friend, Professor Nguyen Manh Tuong. In 1938, after the reigns of Phan Boi Chau and Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc, he gave up his task of teaching History - Geography to Vietnamese youth and transferred to the Ancient Oriental Institute. In the same year, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Huyen helped establish the Vietnam Civilized History subject at Hanoi Law University.

He was appointed Minister of Education by the National Assembly in November 1946 and held this position for 29 years until his death in October 1975. Late Minister Nguyen Van Huyen received the Ho Chi Minh Prize, the First-class Independence medal, his name also was given to the street running across the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Huyen was posthumously awarded the Ho Chi Minh Prize in Science and Technology in 2000.

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Huyen is known and honored for his dedication to national education and the country's civilization. With his morality, talent and contributions to the country, he deserves to be a genius who has brightened up the country of Vietnam.