Paris - Vietnam's last Emperor, Bao Dai (83), a symbolic ruler and puppet of the French colonial regime, died on Thursday in a military hospital in Paris after spending four decades in exile in France, officials said yesterday. At first seen as a likely pioneer for Vietnamese independence from the French, Bao Dai indulged instead in the life of a jet-setter and become known as the Playboy Emperor.Born Nguyen Vinh Thuy in 1913, he reached the throne in 1926, taking the title Bao Dai (Keeper of Greatness) as sovereign.Because of his youth, Bao Dai soon went to France to complete his education. It was not until 1932 that he assumed his royal duties at Hue, the Imperial City. Initially he attempted to modernise Vietnam and adopt reforms but France was unwilling to cooperate.In the end, he spent most of his time in France and when at home he spent much of his time hunting on central Vietnam's high plains. He converted from Buddhism to Roman Catholicism during his stay in France, where he lost much of his fortune. - (Reuter)