Hugh Nguyen
Orange County Clerk-Recorder Hugh Nguyen was born in Vietnam in 1967. Hugh was brought to America at the age of seven by his grandparents and his aunt who raised him. His journey began in 1975 aboard the USS Midway which took him from the Philippines to Guam and then to El Toro Air Base ending up at Camp Pendleton in California. Eventually, Hugh moved to El Centro and finally to Orange County in 1979. He graduated from Saddleback High School, attended Santa Ana College, and completed Chapman University’s Management Academy Program.
As a child, Hugh was told that his father was an American soldier who was killed in action while serving his country. In 2018, after a 50-year search and a DNA submission to ancestry.com, Hugh miraculously found his father alive and living in Tennessee.
On April 2, 2013, Hugh was selected by the Board of Supervisors to fill the remaining term of office for Clerk-Recorder through December 2014. Hugh was selected after an extensive recruitment process in which 900 people applied for the vacant Clerk-Recorder position. The Supervisors selected Hugh due to his experience, hands on management style, and desire to serve the public.
In June 2014, Hugh was elected to his first four-year term of office. Upon taking the oath of office, Hugh became the first Vietnamese American ever elected county-wide to the position of Clerk-Recorder and the first Vietnamese American to be elected to the office of County Clerk-Recorder in the nation. In June 2018, Hugh was overwhelmingly re-elected to a second four-year term. On June 7, 2022, Hugh was once again re-elected to a third four-year term and will serve through 2026.
In 2022, Hugh was awarded the Leadership in Public Service Award from the Orange County Business Council in which he was recognized for his implementation of numerous tax-cutting and streamlining initiatives such as the expansion of the South County branch office, Hitched at Honda Center, and reduction of passport photo fees. He was named one of Orange County’s 100 Most Influential by the Orange County Register in 2015 and again in 2020 for his efforts in making his department’s services more accessible to working families and for his department's innovative Hitched at Honda Center program in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The annual 100 Most Influential list includes individuals who have influenced business, culture, education, food, giving, government, health, inspiration, science, and sports. Under his leadership, Hugh’s department received multiple CSAC and NACo Awards for the innovations he has ushered in.
My journey to this moment has been nothing short of miraculous and in many regards, against all odds, I am here. Alive, thriving, and living proof that where you start does not determine where you’ll finish. The path that began in a war-torn Vietnam has taken me across oceans and obstacles, through hardship and heartbreak, toward purpose and possibility. I’m thankful to be living the American Dream where this country provided our family and all Vietnamese refugees an opportunity for freedom.
