Dương Văn Minh
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Ngô Đình Diệm ( / djɛm /, [2] / ˈjiːəm / or / ziːm /; Vietnamese: [ŋō ɗìn jîəmˀ] ⓘ; 3 January 1901 – 2 November 1963) was a South Vietnamese politician who was the final prime minister of the State of Vietnam (1954–1955) and later the first president of South Vietnam ( Republic of Vietnam) from 1955 until his capture and ...
- Himself
- Cần Lao
- Overview
- Early life and rise to power
- Vietnam War and assassination
Ngo Dinh Diem was born into one of the noble families of Vietnam. His ancestors in the 17th century had been among the first Vietnamese converts to Roman Catholicism. He was on friendly terms with the Vietnamese imperial family in his youth.
What did Ngo Dinh Diem do?
As president of South Vietnam (1955–63), Ngo Dinh Diem assumed dictatorial powers. Diem’s heavy-handed tactics against the Viet Cong insurgency deepened his government’s unpopularity, and his brutal treatment of the opposition to his regime alienated the South Vietnamese populace, notably Buddhists. In 1963 he was murdered during a coup d’état by some of his generals.
What were Ngo Dinh Diem’s jobs?
In 1933 Ngo Dinh Diem was the emperor Bao Dai’s minister of the interior. In 1954 Diem began serving as prime minister in what would become the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). Diem defeated Bao Dai in a referendum in October 1955, ousted the emperor, and made himself president.
Ngo Dinh Diem (born January 3, 1901, Quang Binh province, northern Vietnam—died November 2, 1963, Cho Lon, South Vietnam [now in Vietnam]) Vietnamese political leader who served as president, with dictatorial powers, of what was then South Vietnam, from 1955 until his assassination.
Diem was born into one of the noble families of Vietnam. His ancestors in the 17th century had been among the first Vietnamese converts to Roman Catholicism. He was on friendly terms with the Vietnamese imperial family in his youth, and in 1933 he served as the emperor Bao Dai’s minister of the interior. However, he resigned that same year in frustration at French unwillingness to countenance his legislative reforms. Relinquishing his titles and decorations, Diem spent the next 12 years living quietly in Hue. In 1945 he was captured by the forces of the communist leader Ho Chi Minh, who invited Diem to join Ho’s independent government in the newly declared Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), hoping that Diem’s presence would win Catholic support. Diem rejected the proposal, however, and went into self-imposed exile, living abroad for most of the next decade.
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In 1954 Diem returned at Bao Dai’s request to serve as prime minister of a U.S.-backed government in what in the following year would be proclaimed as the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). Diem defeated Bao Dai in a government-controlled referendum in October 1955, ousted the emperor, and made himself president of South Vietnam. Diem refused to carry out the 1954 Geneva Accords, which had called for free elections to be held throughout Vietnam in 1956 in order to establish a national government. With the south torn by dissident groups and political factions, Diem established an autocratic regime that was staffed at the highest levels by members of his own family.
Diem, assisted by U.S. military and economic aid, was able to resettle hundreds of thousands of refugees from North Vietnam in the south, but his own Catholicism and the preference he showed for fellow Roman Catholics made him unacceptable to Buddhists, who were an overwhelming majority in South Vietnam. Diem never fulfilled his promise of land reforms, and during his rule communist influence and appeal grew among southerners as the communist-inspired National Liberation Front, or Viet Cong, launched an increasingly intense guerrilla war against his government. The military tactics Diem used against the insurgency were heavy-handed and ineffective and served only to deepen his government’s unpopularity and isolation.
Diem’s imprisoning and, often, killing of those who expressed opposition to his regime—whom he alleged were abetting communist insurgents—further alienated the South Vietnamese populace, notably Buddhists, who increasingly protested Diem’s discrimination against them. Matters with the Buddhists came to a head in 1963 when, after government forces killed several people at a May rally celebrating the Buddha’s birthday, Buddhists began staging large protest rallies, and three monks and a nun immolated themselves. Those actions finally persuaded the United States to withdraw its support from Diem, and his generals assassinated him during a coup d’état.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
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Memorial services. See Also. Notes. References. Arrest and assassination of Ngô Đình Diệm. On 2 November 1963, Ngô Đình Diệm, the president of South Vietnam, was arrested and assassinated in a CIA -backed coup d'état led by General Dương Văn Minh.
Learn how the U.S. government reacted to the assassination of South Vietnamese president Ngo Dinh Diem in 1963. Explore the historical documents and recordings of President Kennedy and his advisors as they debated the fate of Diem and his regime.
Jun 12, 2006 · How did the murder of South Vietnam's president and his brother in 1963 change American policy and the war in Vietnam? Learn about Kennedy's views, the CIA's role and the impact of the coup.
- Peter Kross
Diem meets US president Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1954. Ngo Dinh Diem (1901-63) was the American-backed leader of South Vietnam from 1954 until his overthrow and execution in November 1963. Born in the old imperial capital Hue, Diem’s family were strict Catholics and better off than most Vietnamese.
Nov 1, 2020 · The web page reveals new documents from U.S. and Vietnamese archives on the coup that ousted and killed South Vietnamese leader Ngo Dinh Diem in November 1963. It shows how President Kennedy was more inclined toward regime change than previously believed and how the CIA and the military plotted against Diem.
