South Vietnam

South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; Vietnamese: Việt Nam Cộng Hòa; French: République du Viêt Nam), was a state that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of the Cold War. It received international recognition in 1949 as the "State of Vietnam" (a self-governing entity in the French Empire), which was a constitutional monarchy (1949–1955). The country was renamed the "Republic of Vietnam" in 1955. Its capital was Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City). South Vietnam was bordered by North Vietnam to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, Thailand across the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest, and the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia across the South China Sea to the east and southeast.

This article is about the former country. For its geographical region, see Southern Vietnam.
"Republic of Vietnam" redirects here. For the modern country, see Vietnam. For other uses, see Vietnam (disambiguation).

Republic of Vietnam

Việt Nam Cộng Hòa  (Vietnamese)
1955–1975
Motto: "Tổ Quốc – Danh Dự – Trách Nhiệm"
(English: "Fatherland – Honor – Duty")
Anthem: Tiếng Gọi Công Dân
(English: "Call to the Citizens")
Administrative territory of South Vietnam in Southeast Asia according to 1954 Geneva Accord
Capital
and largest city
Saigon
Official languagesVietnamese
Recognised national languagesFrench
Religion
Hinduism
Demonym(s)South Vietnamese
Government
President 
• 1955–1963 (first)
Ngô Đình Diệm
• 1975 (last)
Dương Văn Minh
Prime Minister 
• 1963–1964 (first)
Nguyễn Ngọc Thơ
• 1975 (last)
Vũ Văn Mẫu
Historical era
26 October 1955
• 1963 coup
2 November 1963
27 January 1973
30 April 1975
Area
• Total
173,809 km2 (67,108 sq mi)
Population
• 1955
12,000,000
• 1974
19,582,000
Currencyđồnga
Time zoneUTC+8 (Saigon Standard Time (SST))
Driving sideright
Preceded by		Succeeded by
State of Vietnam
Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam
Today part ofVietnam
Part of a series on the
History of Vietnam
Timeline
 Vietnam portal

The Republic of Vietnam was proclaimed on 26 October 1955, with Ngô Đình Diệm as its first president, after having briefly served as premier under Emperor Bảo Đại who was exiled.[1] Its sovereignty was recognized by the United States and 87 other nations. It had membership in several special committees of the United Nations, but its application for full membership was rejected in 1957 because of a Soviet veto (neither South nor North Vietnam were members of the UN during the Vietnam War, but the united Vietnam became a member state in 1977).[2][3] South Vietnam's origins can be traced to the French colony of Cochinchina, which consisted of the southern third of Vietnam which was Cochinchina [Nam Kỳ], a subdivision of French Indochina, and the southern half of Central Vietnam or Annam [Trung Kỳ] which was a French protectorate. After the Second World War, the anti-Japanese Việt Minh guerrilla forces, led by Ho Chi Minh, proclaimed the establishment of a Democratic Republic of Vietnam in Hanoi in September 1945, issuing a Declaration of Independence modeled on the US one from 1776.[4]

In 1949, anti-communist Vietnamese politicians formed a rival government in Saigon led by former emperor Bảo Đại. Bảo Đại was deposed by Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm in 1955, who proclaimed himself president after a referendum. Diệm was killed in a military coup led by general Dương Văn Minh in 1963, and a series of short-lived military governments followed. General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu then led the country after a US-encouraged civilian presidential election from 1967 until 1975. The beginnings of the Vietnam War occurred in 1955 with an uprising by the newly organized National Liberation Front for South Vietnam (Việt Cộng), armed and supported by the North Vietnam, with backing mainly from China and the Soviet Union. Larger escalation of the insurgency occurred in 1965 with American intervention and the introduction of regular forces of Marines, followed by Army units to supplement the cadre of military advisors guiding the Southern armed forces. A regular bombing campaign over North Vietnam was conducted by offshore US Navy airplanes, warships, and aircraft carriers joined by Air Force squadrons through 1966 and 1967. Fighting peaked up to that point during the Tet Offensive of February 1968, when there were over a million South Vietnamese soldiers and 500,000 US soldiers in South Vietnam. Later on the war the initial guerrilla war turned into a more conventional fight as the balance of power became equalized. An even larger, armored invasion from the North commenced during the Easter Offensive following US ground-forces withdrawal, and had nearly overran some major northern cities until beaten back.

Despite a truce agreement under the Paris Peace Accords, concluded in January 1973, after a torturous five years of on and off negotiations, fighting continued almost immediately afterwards. The regular North Vietnamese army and Việt Cộng auxiliaries launched a major second combined-arms conventional invasion in 1975. Communist forces overran Saigon on 30 April 1975, marking the end of the Republic of Vietnam. On 2 July 1976, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (which had taken over administration of the country) and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (then the government of North Vietnam) merged to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Etymology
Main article: Names of Vietnam

The official name of the South Vietnamese state was Việt Nam Cộng hòa (Republic of Vietnam) and the French name was referred to as République du Viêt Nam. The North was known as the "Democratic Republic of Vietnam".

Việt Nam (Vietnamese pronunciation: [vjə̀tnam]) was the name adopted by Emperor Gia Long in 1804.[5] It is a variation of "Nam Việt" (南 越, Southern Việt), a name used in ancient times.[5] In 1839, Emperor Minh Mạng renamed the country Đại Nam ("Great South").[6] In 1945, the nation's official name was changed back to "Vietnam". The name is also sometimes rendered as "Viet Nam" in English.[7] The term "South Vietnam" became common usage in 1954, when the Geneva Conference provisionally partitioned Vietnam into communist and non-communist parts.

Other names of this state were commonly used during its existence such as Free Vietnam and the Government of Viet Nam (GVN).

History

Founding of South Vietnam
About 1 million Vietnamese refugees left the newly created communist North Vietnam during Operation "Passage to Freedom" (October 1954).
See also: Geneva Conference (1954), Operation Passage to Freedom, and 1955 State of Vietnam referendum

Before World War II, the southern third of Vietnam was the concession (nhượng địa) of Cochinchina, which was administered as part of French Indochina. A French governor-general (toàn quyền) in Hanoi administered all the five parts of Indochina (Tonkin, Annam, Cochinchina, Laos, and Cambodia) while Cochinchina (Nam Kỳ) was under a French governor (thống đốc), but the difference from the other parts with most indigenous intelligensia and wealthy were naturalized French (Tourane now Đà Nẵng in the central third of Vietnam also enjoyed this privilege because this city was a concession too.) The northern third of Vietnam (then the colony (thuộc địa) of Tonkin (Bắc Kỳ) was under a French resident general (thống sứ). Between Tonkin in the north and Cochinchina in the south was the protectorate (xứ bảo hộ) of Annam (Trung Kỳ), under a French resident superior (khâm sứ). A Vietnamese emperor, Bảo Đại, residing in Huế, was the nominal ruler of Annam and Tonkin, which had parallel French and Vietnamese systems of administration, but his influence was less in Tonkin than in Annam. Cochinchina had been annexed by France in 1862 and even elected a deputy to the French National Assembly. It was more "evolved", and French interests were stronger than in other parts of Indochina, notably in the form of French-owned rubber plantations. During World War II, Indochina was administered by Vichy France and occupied by Japan in September 1940. Japanese troops overthrew the Vichy administration on 9 March 1945, Emperor Bảo Đại proclaimed Vietnam independent. When the Japanese surrendered on 16 August 1945, Emperor Bảo Đại abdicated, and Việt Minh leader Hồ Chí Minh proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) in Hanoi and the DRV controlled almost the entire country of Vietnam. In June 1946, France declared Cochinchina a republic, separate from the northern and central parts. A Chinese Kuomintang army arrived to occupy Vietnam's north of the 16th parallel north, while a British led force occupied the south in September. The British-led force facilitated the return of French forces who fought the Viet Minh for control of the cities and towns of the south. The French Indochina War began on 19 December 1946, with the French regaining control of Hanoi and many other cities.

The State of Vietnam was created through co-operation between anti-communist Vietnamese and the French government on 14 June 1949. Former emperor Bảo Đại accepted the position of chief of state (quốc trưởng). This was known as the "Bảo Đại Solution". The colonial struggle in Vietnam became part of the global Cold War. In 1950, China, the Soviet Union and other communist nations recognised the DRV while the United States and other non-communist states recognised the Bảo Đại government.

In July 1954, France and the Việt Minh agreed at the Geneva Conference that the Vietnam would be temporarily divided at 17th parallel north and State of Vietnam would rule the territory south of the 17th parallel, pending unification on the basis of supervised elections in 1956. At the time of the conference, it was expected that the South would continue to be a French dependency. However, South Vietnamese Premier Ngô Đình Diệm, who preferred American sponsorship to French, rejected the agreement. When Vietnam was divided, 800,000 to 1 million North Vietnamese, mainly (but not exclusively) Roman Catholics, sailed south as part of Operation Passage to Freedom due to a fear of religious persecution in the North. About 90,000 Việt Minh were evacuated to the North while 5,000 to 10,000 cadre remained in the South, most of them with orders to refocus on political activity and agitation.[8] The Saigon-Cholon Peace Committee, the first Việt Cộng front, was founded in 1954 to provide leadership for this group.[8]

1955–1963
See also: 1955 State of Vietnam referendum and Battle of Saigon (1955)
US President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Secretary of State John Foster Dulles greet President Ngô Đình Diệm of South Vietnam in Washington, 8 May 1957.

In July 1955, Diệm announced in a broadcast that South Vietnam would not participate in the elections specified in the Geneva Accords.[9] As Saigon's delegation did not sign the Geneva Accords, it was not bound by it.[9] He also said the communist government in the North created conditions that made a fair election impossible in that region, with the circumstances prevailing in 1955 and 1956 – anarchy among sects and of the retiring Việt Minh in the South, the 1956 campaign of terror from Hanoi's land reform and resultant peasant uprising around Vinh in the North.[10]

Diệm held a referendum on 23 October 1955 to determine the future of the country. He asked voters to approve a republic, thus removing Bảo Đại as head of state. The poll was supervised by his younger brother, Ngô Đình Nhu. Diệm was credited with 98 percent of the votes. In many districts, there were more votes to remove Bảo Đại than there were registered voters (e.g., in Saigon, 133% of the registered population reportedly voted to remove Bảo Đại). His American advisors had recommended a more modest winning margin of "60 to 70 percent". Diệm, however, viewed the election as a test of authority.[11]:239 On 26 October 1955, Diệm declared himself the president of the newly proclaimed Republic of Vietnam.[12] The French, who needed troops to fight in Algeria and were increasingly sidelined by the United States completely withdrew from Vietnam by April 1956.[12]

The Geneva Accords promised elections in 1956 to determine a national government for a united Vietnam. In 1957, independent observers from India, Poland, and Canada representing the International Control Commission (ICC) stated that fair, unbiased elections were not possible, reporting that neither South nor North Vietnam had honored the armistice agreement:[13] "The elections were not held. South Vietnam, which had not signed the Geneva Accords, did not believe the Communists in North Vietnam would allow a fair election. In January 1957, the ICC agreed with this perception, reporting that neither South nor North Vietnam had honored the armistice agreement. With the French gone, a return to the traditional power struggle between north and south had begun again."

In October 1956 Diệm, with US prodding, launched a land reform program restricting rice farm sizes to a maximum of 247 acres per landowner with the excess land to be sold to landless peasants. More than 1.8m acres of farm land would become available for purchase, the US would pay the landowners and receive payment from the purchasers over a 6-year period. Land reform was regarded by the US as a crucial step to build support for the nascent South Vietnamese government and undermine communist propaganda.[14]:14

The North Vietnamese Communist Party approved a "people's war" on the South at a session in January 1959 and this decision was confirmed by the Politburo in March.[12] In May 1959, Group 559 was established to maintain and upgrade the Ho Chi Minh Trail, at this time a six-month mountain trek through Laos. About 500 of the "regroupees" of 1954 were sent south on the trail during its first year of operation.[15]

Diệm attempted to stabilise South Vietnam by defending against Việt Cộng activities. He launched an anti-communist denunciation campaign (To Cong) against the Việt Cộng. He acted against criminal factions by launching military campaigns against three powerful main sects; the Cao Đài, Hòa Hảo and the Bình Xuyên organised crime syndicate whose military strength combined amounted to approximately 350,000 fighters.

By 1960 the land reform process had stalled. Diệm had never truly supported reform because many of his biggest supporters were the country's largest landowners. While the US threatened to cut aid unless land reform and other changes were made, Diệm correctly assessed that the US was bluffing.[14]:16

Throughout this period, the level of US aid and political support increased. In spite of this, a 1961 US intelligence estimate reported that "one-half of the entire rural region south and southwest of Saigon, as well as some areas to the north, are under considerable Communist control. Some of these areas are in effect denied to all government authority not immediately backed by substantial armed force. The Việt Cộng's strength encircles Saigon and has recently begun to move closer in the city."[16] The report, later excerpted in The Pentagon Papers, continued:

Many feel that [Diem] is unable to rally the people in the fight against the Communists because of his reliance on virtual one-man rule, his tolerance of corruption extending even to his immediate entourage, and his refusal to relax a rigid system of public controls.[16]

1963–1973
Main articles: Buddhist crisis and Vietnam War
A woman casting her ballot in the 1967 Elections in the Republic of Vietnam

The Diệm government lost support among the populace, and from the Kennedy administration, due to its repression of Buddhists and military defeats by the Việt Cộng. Notably, the Huế Phật Đản shootings of 8 May 1963 led to the Buddhist crisis, provoking widespread protests and civil resistance. The situation came to a head when the Special Forces were sent to raid Buddhist temples across the country, leaving a death toll estimated to be in the hundreds. Diệm was overthrown in a coup on 1 November 1963 with the tacit approval of the US.

Diệm's removal and assassination set off a period of political instability and declining legitimacy of the Saigon government. General Dương Văn Minh became president, but he was ousted in January 1964 by General Nguyễn Khánh. Phan Khắc Sửu was named head of state, but power remained with a junta of generals led by Khánh, which soon fell to infighting. Meanwhile, the Gulf of Tonkin incident of 2 August 1964 led to a dramatic increase in direct American participation in the war, with nearly 200,000 troops deployed by the end of the year. Khánh sought to capitalize on the crisis with the Vũng Tàu Charter, a new constitution that would have curtailed civil liberties and concentrated his power, but was forced to back down in the face of widespread protests and strikes. Coup attempts followed in September and February 1965, the latter resulting in Air Marshal Nguyễn Cao Kỳ becoming prime minister and General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu becoming nominal head of state.

Kỳ and Thieu functioned in those roles until 1967, bringing much-desired stability to the government. They imposed censorship and suspended civil liberties, and intensified anticommunist efforts. Under pressure from the US, they held elections for president and the legislature in 1967. The Senate election took place on 2 September 1967. The Presidential election took place on 3 September 1967, Thiệu was elected president with 34% of the vote in a widely criticised poll. The Parliamentary election took place on 22 October 1967.

On 31 January 1968, the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the Việt Cộng broke the traditional truce accompanying the Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday. The Tet Offensive failed to spark a national uprising and was militarily disastrous. By bringing the war to South Vietnam's cities, however, and by demonstrating the continued strength of communist forces, it marked a turning point in US support for the government in South Vietnam. The new administration of Richard Nixon introduced a policy of Vietnamization to reduce US combat involvement and began negotiations with the North Vietnamese to end the war. Thiệu used the aftermath of the Tet Offensive to sideline Kỳ, his chief rival.

On 26 March 1970 the government began to implement the Land-to-the-Tiller program of land reform with the US providing US$339m of the program's US$441m cost. Individual landholdings were limited to 15 hectares.

US and South Vietnamese forces launched a series of attacks on PAVN/VC bases in Cambodia in April–July 1970. South Vietnam launched an invasion of North Vietnamese bases in Laos in February/March 1971 and were defeated by the PAVN in what was widely regarded as a setback for Vietnamization.

Thiệu was reelected unopposed in the Presidential election on 2 October 1971.

North Vietnam launched a conventional invasion of South Vietnam in late March 1972 which was only finally repulsed by October with massive US air support.

1973–1975

In accordance with the Paris Peace Accords signed on 27 January 1973, US military forces withdrew from South Vietnam at the end of March 1973 while PAVN forces in the South were permitted to remain in place.

North Vietnamese leaders had expected that the ceasefire terms would favour their side, but as Saigon began to roll back the Việt Cộng, they found it necessary to adopt a new strategy, hammered out at a series of meetings in Hanoi in March 1973, according to the memoirs of Trần Văn Trà. As the Việt Cộng's top commander, Trà participated in several of these meetings. A plan to improve logistics was prepared so that the PAVN would be able to launch a massive invasion of the South, projected for 1976. A gas pipeline would be built from North Vietnam to the Việt Cộng provisional capital in Lộc Ninh, about 60 miles (97 km) north of Saigon.

On 15 March 1973, US President Richard Nixon implied that the US would intervene militarily if the communist side violated the ceasefire. Public reaction was unfavorable, and on 4 June 1973 the US Senate passed the Case–Church Amendment to prohibit such intervention. The oil price shock of October 1973 caused significant damage to the South Vietnamese economy. A spokesman for Thiệu admitted in a TV interview that the government was being "overwhelmed" by the inflation caused by the oil shock, while an American businessman living in Saigon stated after the oil shock that attempting to make money in South Vietnam was "like making love to a corpse".[17] One consequence of the inflation was the South Vietnamese government had increasing difficulty in paying its soldiers and imposed restrictions on fuel and munition usage. After two clashes that left 55 South Vietnamese soldiers dead, President Thiệu announced on 4 January 1974 that the war had restarted and that the Paris Peace Accord was no longer in effect. There were over 25,000 South Vietnamese casualties during the ceasefire period.[18] Also in January 1974 China attacked South Vietnamese forces in the Paracel Islands taking control of the islands.

In August 1974, Nixon was forced to resign as a result of the Watergate scandal, and the US Congress voted to reduce assistance to South Vietnam from $1 billion a year to $700 million. By this time, the Ho Chi Minh trail, once an arduous mountain trek, had been upgraded into a drivable highway with gasoline stations.

In December 1974, the PAVN launched an invasion at Phuoc Long to test two things: South Vietnamese combat strength and political will and whether the US would respond militarily. With no US military assistance forthcoming the ARVN were unable to hold and the PAVN successfully captured many of the districts around the provincial capital of Phuoc Long weakening ARVN resistance in stronghold areas. President Thiệu later abandoned Phuoc Long in early January 1975. As a result, Phuoc Long was the first provincial capital to fall to the PAVN.[19]

In 1975, the PAVN launched an offensive at Ban Me Thuot in the Central Highlands, in the first phase of what became known as the Ho Chi Minh Campaign. The South Vietnamese unsuccessfully attempted a defence and counterattack but had few reserve forces, as well as a shortage of spare parts and ammunition. As a consequence, Thiệu ordered a withdrawal of key army units from the Central Highlands, which exacerbated an already perilous military situation and undermined the confidence of the ARVN soldiers in their leadership. The retreat became a rout exacerbated by poor planning and conflicting orders from Thiệu. PAVN forces also attacked south and from sanctuaries in Laos and Cambodia capturing Huế and Da Nang and advanced southwards. As the military situation deteriorated, ARVN troops started deserting. By early April, South Vietnam had lost almost 3/5th of the country.

Thiệu requested aid from US President Gerald Ford, but the US Senate would not release extra money to provide aid to South Vietnam, and had already passed laws to prevent further involvement in Vietnam. In desperation, Thiệu recalled Kỳ from retirement as a military commander, but resisted calls to name his old rival prime minister.

Fall of Saigon: April 1975
Main articles: Fall of Saigon and Operation Frequent Wind

Morale was low in South Vietnam as the PAVN advanced. A last-ditch defense was made by the ARVN 18th Division at the Battle of Xuân Lộc from 9–21 April. Thiệu resigned on 21 April 1975, and fled to Taiwan. He nominated his Vice President Trần Văn Hương as his successor. After only one week in office, the South Vietnamese national assembly voted to hand over the presidency to General Dương Văn Minh. Minh was seen as a more conciliatory figure toward the North, and it was hoped he might be able to negotiate a more favourable settlement to end the war. The North, however, was not interested in negotiations, and its forces captured Saigon. Minh unconditionally surrendered Saigon and the rest of South Vietnam to North Vietnam on 30 April 1975.[20]

During the hours leading up to the surrender, the United States undertook a massive evacuation of US government personnel as well as high-ranking members of the ARVN and other South Vietnamese who were seen as potential targets for persecution by the Communists. Many of the evacuees were taken directly by helicopter to multiple aircraft carriers waiting off the coast. An iconic image of the evacuation is the widely seen footage of empty Huey helicopters being jettisoned over the side of the carriers, to provide more room on the ship's deck for more evacuees to land.

Provisional Revolutionary Government
Main article: Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam

Following the surrender of Saigon to North Vietnamese forces on 30 April 1975, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam officially became the government of South Vietnam. Merged with the Democratic Republic of Vietnam to create the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on 2 July 1976.[21]

Government
Further information: 1955 State of Vietnam referendum, 1959 South Vietnamese parliamentary election, 1960 South Vietnamese coup attempt, 1962 South Vietnamese Independence Palace bombing, Buddhist crisis, Huế Vesak shootings, Xá Lợi Pagoda raids, 1963 South Vietnamese coup, Arrest and assassination of Ngô Đình Diệm, and 1964 South Vietnamese coup

South Vietnam went through many political changes during its short life. Initially, former Emperor Bảo Đại served as Head of State. He was unpopular however, largely because monarchical leaders were considered collaborators during French rule and because he had spent his reign absent in France.

In 1955, Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm held a referendum to decide whether the State of Vietnam would remain a monarchy or become a republic. This referendum was blatantly rigged in favor of a republic. Not only did an implausible 98% vote in favor of deposing Bảo Đại, but over 380,000 more votes were cast than the total number of registered voters; in Saigon, for instance, Diệm was credited with 133% of the vote. Diệm proclaimed himself the president of the newly formed Republic of Vietnam. Despite successes in politics, economics and social change in the first 5 years, Diệm quickly became a dictatorial leader. With the support of the United States government and the CIA, ARVN officers led by General Dương Văn Minh staged a coup and killed him in 1963. The military held a brief interim military government until General Nguyễn Khánh deposed Minh in a January 1964 coup. Until late 1965, multiple coups and changes of government occurred, with some civilians being allowed to give a semblance of civil rule overseen by a military junta.

In 1965, the feuding civilian government voluntarily resigned and handed power back to the nation's military, in the hope this would bring stability and unity to the nation. An elected constituent assembly including representatives of all the branches of the military decided to switch the nation's system of government to a Semi-Presidential system. Military rule initially failed to provide much stability however, as internal conflicts and political inexperience caused various factions of the army to launch coups and counter-coups against one another, making leadership very tumultuous. The situation within the ranks of the military stabilised in mid-1965 when the Republic of Vietnam Air Force chief Nguyễn Cao Kỳ became Prime Minister, with General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu as the figurehead chief of state. As Prime Minister, Kỳ consolidated control of the South Vietnamese government and ruled the country with an iron fist.[22]:273

In June 1965, Kỳ's influence over the ruling military government was solidified when he forced civilian prime minister Phan Huy Quát from power.[22]:232 Often praising aspects of Western culture in public,[22]:264 Ky was supported by the United States and its allied nations,[22]:264 though doubts began to circulate among Western officials by 1966 on whether or not Ky could maintain stability in South Vietnam.[22]:264 A repressive leader, Ky was greatly despised by his fellow countrymen.[22]:273 In early 1966, protesters influenced by popular Buddhist monk Thích Trí Quang attempted an uprising in Quang's hometown of Da Nang.[22]:273 The uprising was unsuccessful and Ky's repressive stance towards the nation's Buddhist population continued.[22]:273

In 1967, the unicameral National Assembly was replaced by a bicameral system consisting of a Parliament or Lower House (Hạ Nghị Viện) and a Senate or Upper House (Thượng Nghị Viện) and South Vietnam held its first elections under the new system. The military nominated Nguyễn Văn Thiệu as their candidate, and he was elected with a plurality of the popular vote. Thieu quickly consolidated power much to the dismay of those who hoped for an era of more political openness. He was re-elected unopposed in 1971, receiving a suspiciously high 94% of the vote on an 87% turn-out. Thieu ruled until the final days of the war, resigning on 21 April 1975. Vice-President Trần Văn Hương assumed power for a week, but on 27 April the Parliament and Senate voted to transfer power to Dương Văn Minh who was the nation's last president and who unconditionally surrendered to the Communist forces on 30 April 1975.

The National Assembly/Parliament was located in the Saigon Opera House, now the Municipal Theatre, Ho Chi Minh City,[23]:100 while the Senate was located at 45-47 Bến Chương Dương Street (đường Bến Chương Dương), District 1, originally the Chamber of Commerce, and now the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange.[23]:218

The South Vietnamese government was regularly accused of holding large quantity of political prisoners, of which the exact number was a source of contention. Amnesty International, in a report in 1973, gave the estimation of number of South Vietnam's civilian prisoners ranging from 35,257 (as confirmed by Saigon) to 200,000 or more. Among them, approximately 22,000–41,000 were accounted "communist" political prisoners.[24] Robert F. Turner disputed the figure of 200,000, claiming the actual number to be "at the worst [...] a few hundred or so."[25]

Leaders
Main article: Leaders of South Vietnam
  • 1946–47 Autonomous Republic of Cochinchina (Chính phủ Cộng hoà Nam Kỳ tự trị). The creation of this republic, during the First Indochina War (1946–1954), allowed France to evade a promise to recognise Vietnam as independent. The government was renamed in 1947 Provisional Governenment of South Vietnam, overtly stating its aim to reunite the whole country[26]
    • Nguyễn Văn Thinh (1946)
    • Lê Văn Hoạch (1946–47)
    • Nguyễn Văn Xuân (1947–48)
  • 1948–49 Provisional Central Government of Vietnam (Chính phủ lâm thời Quốc gia Việt Nam). This "pre-Vietnam" government prepared for a unified Vietnamese state, but the country's full reunification was delayed for a year because of the problems posed by Cochinchina's legal status.
  • 1949–1955 State of Vietnam (Quốc gia Việt Nam). Internationally recognized in 1950. Roughly 60 percent of Vietnamese territory was actually physically controlled by the communist Việt Minh. Vietnam was partitioned at the 17th parallel in 1954.
    • Bảo Đại (1949–1955). Abdicated as emperor (constitutional monarch) in 1945 following surrender of Imperial Japanese occupying forces at the end of World War II, later serving as Head of State to 1955.
  • 1955–1975 Republic of Vietnam (Việt Nam Cộng Hòa). Fought Vietnam War [Second Indochina War], (1959–75) against the Hanoi government
    • Ngô Đình Diệm (1955–1963). Once highly lauded by America, he was ousted and assassinated in a US-backed coup in November 1963.
    • In 1963–1965, there were numerous coups and short-lived governments, several of which were headed by Dương Văn Minh or Nguyễn Khánh.
    • Nguyễn Văn Thiệu (1965–1975). Prime Minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ was the top leader of the last of the military regimes in 1965–1967 before a US-backed civilian government was instituted, following a new constitution and elections in 1967, with Thieu elected president.
    • Trần Văn Hương (1975).
    • Dương Văn Minh (2nd time) (1975). Surrendered South Vietnam to North Vietnam.
  • 1975–76 Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (Chính phủ Cách mạng lâm thời Cộng hoà miền Nam Việt Nam).

Ministries

South Vietnam had the following Ministries:

  • Ministry of Culture and Education (Bộ Văn hóa Giáo dục) at 33–5 Lê Thánh Tôn[23]:243
  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Bộ Ngoại giao) at 4–6 Rue Colombert (now 4–6 Alexandre de Rhodes)[23]:161–2
  • Ministry of Health (Bộ Y tế) at 57–9 Hong Thap Tu (now 57-9 Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai)[23]:330
  • Ministry of Justice (Bộ Tư pháp) at 47 Lê Duẩn[23]:290
  • Ministry of National Defence (Bộ Quốc phòng) at 63 Lý Tự Trọng[23]:139–40
  • Ministry of Police (Bộ Tư lệnh Cảnh sát Quốc gia) at 258 Nguyễn Trãi[23]:466
  • Ministry of Public Works and Communications (Bộ Công chính và Truyền thông) at 92 Nam Kỳ Khởi Nghĩa[23]:191
  • Ministry of Revolutionary Development

Military
Main article: Republic of Vietnam Military Forces

The Republic of Vietnam Military Forces (RVNMF; Vietnamese: Quân lực Việt Nam Cộng hòa – QLVNCH), was formally established on 30 December 1955.[27] Created out from ex-French Union Army colonial Indochinese auxiliary units (French: Supplétifs), gathered earlier in July 1951 into the French-led Vietnamese National Army – VNA (Vietnamese: Quân Đội Quốc Gia Việt Nam – QĐQGVN), Armée Nationale Vietnamiènne (ANV) in French, the armed forces of the new state consisted in the mid-1950s of ground, air, and naval branches of service, respectively:

Their roles were defined as follows: to protect the sovereignty of the free Vietnamese nation and that of the Republic; to maintain the political and social order and the rule of law by providing internal security; to defend the newly independent Republic of Vietnam from external (and internal) threats; and ultimately, to help reunify Vietnam.

The French ceased training the QLVNCH in 1956 and training passed to American advisers who progressively restructured the military along US military lines.[28]:254–5

The country was divided from north to south into four corps tactical zones: I Corps, II Corps, III Corps, IV Corps and the Capital Military District in and around Saigon.

At the time of signing of the Paris Peace Accords, the South Vietnamese government fielded the fourth largest military force in the world as a result of the American Enhance and Enhance Plus programs with approximately one and one-half million troops in uniform. The lack of sufficient training and dependence on the U.S. for spare parts, fuel, and ammunition caused maintenance and logistical problems. The impact of the 1973 oil crisis, a faltering economy, inflation and reduced US aid led to a steady decline in South Vietnamese military expenditure and effectiveness.[29]:28[30]:83

Media

Radio
Radio Vietnam broadcast hours cards, denoting times and frequencies of radio broadcasts in 1960 and 1962. Address: 3 Phan Dinh Phung St., Saigon

There were four AM and one FM radio stations, all of them owned by government (VTVN), named Radio Vietnam. One of them was designated as a nationwide civilian broadcast, another was for military service and the other two stations included a French language broadcast station and foreign language station broadcasting in Chinese, English, Khmer and Thai. Radio Vietnam started its operation in 1955 under then President Ngo Dinh Diem, and ceased operation on 30 April 1975, with the broadcast of surrender by Duong Van Minh. The radio stations across the former South were later reused by the communist regime to broadcast their state-run radio service.

Television

Television was introduced to South Vietnam on 7 February 1966 with black-and-white FCC system. Covering major cities in South Vietnam, started with a one-hour broadcast per day then increased to six hours in the evening during the 1970s. There were two main channels:

Both channels used an airborne transmission relay system from airplanes flying at high altitudes, called Stratovision.

Newspapers

Writing in The Christian Science Monitor in 1970, Dan Sutherland remarked: "Under its new press law, South Vietnam now has one of the freest presses in Southeast Asia, and the daily paper with the biggest circulation here happens to be sharply critical of President Thieu ... since the new press law was promulgated nine months ago, the government has not been able to close down Tin Sang or any other newspaper among the more than 30 now being published in Saigon."[25]

Provinces
Map of South Vietnam

South Vietnam was divided into forty-four provinces:

NamePopulation
(1968 est.)[31]		Capital
Quảng Trị Province279,088Quảng Trị
Thừa Thiên Province633,799Huế
Quảng Nam Province915,123Hội An
Quảng Tín Province306,518Tam Kỳ
Quảng Ngãi Province678,606Quảng Ngãi
Kon Tum Province104,241Kontum
Bình Định Province902,085Qui Nhơn
Pleiku Province192,682Pleiku
Phú Bổn Province51,313Hậu Bổn
Phú Yên Province329,464Tuy Hòa
Darlac Province293,194Ban Me Thuot
Khánh Hòa Province403,988Nha Trang
Quảng Đức Province28,863Gia Nghĩa
Tuyên Đức Province93,646Da Lat
Ninh Thuận Province156,194Phan Rang
Lâm Đồng Province65,561Bảo Lộc
Bình Thuận Province267,306Phan Thiết
Phước Long Province104,213Phước Bình
Long Khánh Province144,227Xuân Lộc
Bình Tuy Province59,082Hàm Tân
Bình Long Province70,394An Lộc
Tây Ninh Province235,404Tây Ninh
Bình Dương Province235,404Phú Cường
Biên Hòa Province449,468Biên Hòa
Phước Tuy ProvincePhước Lễ
Hậu Nghĩa Province279,088Khiêm Cường
Gia Định Province1,089,773Gia Định
Long An ProvinceTân An
Gò Công ProvinceGò Công
Định Tường ProvinceMỹ Tho
Kiến Tường Province42,597Mộc Hóa
Kiến Phong ProvinceCao Lãnh
Châu Đốc Province575,916Châu Phú
An Giang Province491,710Long Xuyên
Sa Đéc Province264,511Sa Đéc
Kiên Giang Province387,634Rạch Giá
Phong Dinh Province426,090Cần Thơ
Vĩnh Long Province500,870Vĩnh Long
Kiến Hòa Province582,099Trúc Giang
Vĩnh Bình Province404,118Phú Vinh
Chương Thiện Province248,713Vị Thanh
Ba Xuyên Province352,971Khánh Hưng
Bạc Liêu Province259,891Vĩnh Lợi
An Xuyên Province235,398Quản Long
Saigon1,622,673Saigon

Geography

The South was divided into coastal lowlands, the mountainous Central Highlands (Cao-nguyen Trung-phan) and the Mekong Delta. South Vietnam's time zone was one hour ahead of North Vietnam, belonging to the UTC+8 time zone with the same time as the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Mainland China, Taiwan and Western Australia.

Apart from the mainland, the Republic of Vietnam also administered parts of the Paracels and Spratly Islands. China seized control of the Paracels in 1974 after the South Vietnam navy attempted an assault on PRC-held islands.

Economy
Main article: Economy of the Republic of Vietnam
See also: Commercial Import Program

South Vietnam maintained a capitalist free-market economy with ties to the West. It established an airline named Air Vietnam. The economy was greatly assisted by American aid and the presence of large numbers of Americans in the country between 1961 and 1973. Electrical production increased fourteen-fold between 1954 and 1973 while industrial output increase by an average of 6.9 percent annually.[32] During the same period, rice output increased by 203 percent and the number of students in university increased from 2,000 to 90,000.[32] US aid peaked at $2.3 billion in 1973, but dropped to $1.1 billion in 1974.[33] Inflation rose to 200 percent as the country suffered economic shock due the decrease of American aid as well as the oil price shock of October 1973.[33] The unification of Vietnam in 1976 was followed by the imposition of North Vietnam's centrally planned economy in the South.

A 2017 study in the journal Diplomatic History found that South Vietnamese economic planners sought to model the South Vietnamese economy on Taiwan and South Korea, which were perceived as successful examples of how to modernize developing economies.[34]

Demographics

In 1970 about 90% of population was Kinh (Viet), and 10% was Hoa (Chinese), Montagnard, French, Khmer, Cham, Eurasians and others.

The Vietnamese language was the primary official language and was spoken by the majority of the population. Despite the end of French colonial rule, the French language still maintained a strong presence in South Vietnam where it was used in administration, education (especially at the secondary and higher levels), trade and diplomacy. The ruling elite population of South Vietnam was known to speak French as its primary language.[11]:280–4 With US involvement in the Vietnam War, the English language was also later introduced to the armed forces and became a secondary diplomatic language. Languages spoken by minority groups included Chinese, Khmer and other languages spoken by Montagnard groups.[35]

The religion of the majority of the population was Buddhism influenced by Confucian philosophy, which was practiced by about 80% of the population.[36]

Culture

Cultural life was strongly influenced by China until French domination in the 18th century. At that time, the traditional culture began to acquire an overlay of Western characteristics. Many families had three generations living under one roof. The emerging South Vietnamese middle class and youth in the 1960s became increasingly more westernised, and followed American cultural and social trends, especially in music, fashion and social attitudes in major cities like Saigon.

Foreign relations

South Vietnam had diplomatic relations with the following countries: Australia, Brazil, Cambodia (until 1963 and then from 1970), Canada, Republic of China (Taiwan), France, Indonesia (until 1964), Iran, Japan, Laos, New Zealand, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, the Vatican and West Germany.

Relationship with the United States

The Embassy of the Republic of Vietnam in Washington donated 527 reels of South Vietnamese-produced film to the Library of Congress during the embassy's closure following the Fall of Saigon, which are in the Library to this day.[37]

International organisations

South Vietnam was a member of ACCT, Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank (IBRD), International Development Association (IDA), International Finance Corporation (IFC), IMF, International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (Intelsat), Interpol, IOC, ITU, League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (LORCS), UNESCO and Universal Postal Union (UPU).

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See also

References
  1. Konrad G. Bühler (2001). State Succession and Membership in International Organizations: Legal Theories Versus Political Pragmatism. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. pp. 71. ISBN 978-90-411-1553-9.
  2. George S. Prugh (1975). "Application of Geneva Conventions to Prisoners of War". Vietnam Studies: Law at War: Vietnam 1964–1973. lawofwar.org.
  3. Robert C. Doyle (2010). The Enemy in Our Hands: America's Treatment of Enemy Prisoners of War from the Revolution to the War on Terror. University Press of Kentucky. p. 269. ISBN 978-0-8131-2589-3.
  4. Huynh, Dien (30 March 2018). "The End of South Vietnam". The New York Times..
  5. L. Shelton Woods (2002). Vietnam: a global studies handbook. ABC-CLIO. p. 38. ISBN 978-1576074169.
  6. A. Dirk Moses (2008). Empire, Colony, Genocide: Conquest, Occupation, and Subaltern Resistance in World History. Berghahn Books. p. 213. ISBN 978-1845454524.
  7. "Maintenance Agency for ISO 3166 country codes – English country names and code elements". ISO. 6 April 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  8. "Origins of the Insurgency in South Vietnam, 1954–1960". The Pentagon Papers. 1971. pp. 242–314.
  9. Ang Cheng Guan (1997). Vietnamese Communists' Relations with China and the Second Indochina War (1956–62). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-7864-0404-9.
  10. Duncanson, Dennis J. Government and Revolution in Vietnam. New York: Oxford University Press, 1968. tr 223: "In the circumstances prevailing in 1955 and 1956 – anarchy of the Sects and of the retiring Việt Minh in the South, terror campaign of the land reform and resultant peasant uprising round Vinh in the North – it was only to be expected that voters would vote, out of fear of reprisals, in favour of the authorities under whom they found themselves; that the ICC had no hope of ensuring a truly free election at that time has been admitted since by the chief sponsor of the Final Declaration, Lord Avon."
  11. Karnow, Stanley (1997). Vietnam: A history. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-670-84218-4.
  12. "The Vietnam War: Seeds of Conflict: 1945–1960". historyplace.com. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  13. Woodruff, Mark (2005). Unheralded Victory: The Defeat of The Viet Cong and The North Vietnamese. Presidio Press. p. 6. ISBN 0-8914-1866-0.
  14. Doyle, Edward; Weiss, Stephen (1984). The Vietnam Experience A collision of cultures. Boston Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0939526123.
  15. Pribbenow, Merle (2002). Victory in Vietnam: The Official History of the People's Army of Vietnam. University Press of Kansas. p. xi. ISBN 0-7006-1175-4.
  16. Sheehan, Neil; Smith, Hedrick; Kenworthy, E. W.; Butterfield, Fox (12 December 2017). The Pentagon Papers: The Secret History of the Vietnam War. Skyhorse Publishing Inc. ISBN 9781631582936.
  17. Cooper, Andrew Scott The Oil Kings How the US, Iran, and Saudi Arabia Changed the Balance of Power in the Middle East, New York: Simon and Schuster, 2011 p. 205
  18. This Day in History 1974: Thieu announces war has resumed Archived 25 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  19. "Battle of Phuoc Long Begins". World History Project. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  20. "Fall of Saigon - 1975 Year in Review - Audio - UPI.com". UPI.
  21. "About Vietnam". vietnam.gov.vn/portal. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  22. David Farber (2004). The Sixties Chronicle. Legacy Publishing. ISBN 978-1412710091.
  23. Doling, Tim (2019). Exploring Saigon-Cholon – Vanishing Heritage of Ho Cho Minh City. Thế Giới Publishers. ISBN 9786047761388.
  24. Report No. ASA 41/001/1973, "Political Prisoners in South Vietnam", Amnesty International, 1 January 1973, p. 6-8.
  25. Turner, Robert F. (1990). "Myths and Realities in the Vietnam Debate". The Vietnam Debate: A Fresh Look at the Arguments. University Press of America. ISBN 9780819174161.
  26. Philippe Devillers, Histoire du viêt-nam de 1940 à 1952, Seuil, 1952, pp 418–419
  27. Rottman, Gordon; Bujeiro, Ramiro (2010). Army of the Republic of Vietnam 1955–75, Men-at-arms series 458. Osprey Publishing Ltd. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-84908-182-5.
  28. Spector, Ronald (1985). United States Army in Vietnam Advice and Support: The Early Years 1941–1960 (PDF). United States Army Center of Military History. ISBN 9780029303702.}} This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  29. Le Gro, William (1985). Vietnam from Cease Fire to Capitulation (PDF). United States Army Center of Military History. ISBN 9781410225429. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  30. Veith, George (2012). Black April The Fall of South Vietnam 1973–75. Encounter Books. ISBN 9781594035722.
  31. "Pacific Stars and Stripes MACV Orientation Edition" (PDF). Pacific Stars and Stripes. 1 July 1968. p. 9. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  32. Kim, Youngmin, "The South Vietnamese Economy During the Vietnam War, 1954–1975"
  33. Wiest, Andrew A., The Vietnam War, 1956–1975, p. 80.
  34. Toner, Simon (1 September 2017). "Imagining Taiwan: The Nixon Administration, the Developmental States, and South Vietnam's Search for Economic Viability, 1969–1975". Diplomatic History. 41 (4): 772–798. doi:10.1093/dh/dhw057. ISSN 0145-2096.
  35. THE ROLE OF ENGLISH IN VIETNAM’S FOREIGN LANGUAGE POLICY: A BRIEF HISTORY, 19th Annual EA Education Conference 2006 (archived from the original on 2012-03-23)
  36. Tucker, Spencer C. (2000). Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social and Military History. ABC-CLIO. pp. 49, 291, 293. ISBN 1-57607-040-9.
  37. Johnson, Victoria E. "Vietnam on Film and Television: Documentaries in the Library of Congress". University of Virginia. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
Preceded by
State of Việt Nam		 Republic of Việt Nam
1955–1975		 Succeeded by
Provisional Revolutionary Government
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