Nguyễn Hữu Chỉnh

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Nguyễn Hữu Chỉnh (1741–1788) was an official of the Revival Lê dynasty in Vietnam. A student of Hoàng Ngũ Phúc, he served as a diplomat to the Tây Sơn, who admired his eloquence. He later became the right-hand man of Hoàng Đình Bảo. In 1782, Bảo was killed by Trịnh Khải, and Chỉnh fled to Tây Sơn.

In 1786, Chỉnh urged Nguyễn Huệ to march north. Huệ defeated the Trịnh lords and took control of northern Vietnam. The Lê emperor Lê Hiển Tông met Huệ, and Chỉnh advised him to recognize Lê authority in Đàng Ngoại and to marry Princess Lê Ngọc Hân. Huệ agreed, Tây Sơn withdrew from the north, but he still saw Chỉnh as a traitor to the Trịnh and left him behind in the north, where Chỉnh stayed in his homeland, Nghệ An.

With Huệ gone, the Trịnh lords exploited the power vacuum. Two heirs, Trịnh Bồng and Trịnh Lệ, claimed the lordship, plunging the north into chaos. Lê Chiêu Thống asked Chỉnh for help. Chỉnh led an army north, defeated the Trịnh forces, forced Trịnh Bồng to flee, and captured Thăng Long (Hanoi). He was made Đại Tư Đồ and titled Duke of Bằng Trung, becoming the de facto ruler of northern Vietnam.

Huệ then sent Vũ Văn Nhậm with an army to retake Thăng Long. Chỉnh was defeated, fled with Lê Chiêu Thống, and was captured by Nhậm in Thăng Long, where he was executed.