Ngo Dinh Diem, President of the Republic of Vietnam from 1955 until his murder in 1963, divided opinion amongst U.S. officials throughout his reign. He was regarded as ‘Yogi-like mystic’ by Ambassador to France Douglas Dillon, was doubted by General Lawton Collins but was described as ‘the Winston Churchill of Asia’ by Lyndon Johnson. However, both critics and supporters alike acknowledged him as a man of courage and dedication.
Born into a distinguished Catholic mandarin family, Diem graduated from the French run Hanoi School of Administration at twenty before entering the mandarinate (civil service). He rose rapidly through the ranks, becoming a province chief in 1930 and heading a commission investigating corruption in the Annamese administration in 1932.
Diem’s rise continued in 1933 when Emperor
Bao Dai appointed him Minister of the Interior, however, he resigned after only three months in the role when the French refused to agree to his reforms. After retiring to Japan, Diem spent several years garnering support for Vietnamese independence.
World War IITwice during World War II he refused Bao Dai’s invitations to serve as Prime Minister, believing that the Japanese occupation offered little prospect of true independence. Following Japan’s formal surrender in September 1945 Diem was arrested and imprisoned for six-months by the Viet Minh. While held captive and following the Communist’s assassination of his brother Ngo Dinh Koi, he refused the post of Minister of the Interior in
Ho Chi Minh’s DRV government.
French Indochina WarAfter the outbreak of war between the Viet Minh and the French in December 1946, Diem began to play an active role in negotiating Boa Dai’s return to power. However, he disapproved of the limited independence granted by the 1949 Franco-Vietnam Elysee Agreement and again rejected an offer from Bao Dai to become Prime Minister. Diem subsequently went into self-imposed exile, living in America (New Jersey) for two years before entering a monastery in Belgium in May 1953. Following the Communists victory over the French at
Dien Bien Phu in May 1954, Diem finally accepted Emperor Bao Dai’s invitation to form a government and returned to Vietnam in late June.
RuleAlmost immediately after taking office Diem was tasked with implementing the
Geneva cease-fire agreement, which partitioned Vietnam at the 17th parallel and triggered an influx of refugees from the Communist north. After a first year in office, during which he also had to see off a coup plot by his Army’s Chief of Staff and quash uprisings by the sects, he swept to victory over Bao Dai in a referendum and became President of the new Republic of Vietnam.
As Premier he steadfastly refused to implement the elections for the unification of Vietnam promised by the Geneva agreement, believing that necessary conditions for free voting did not exist in the north. This strong anti-Communist stance was initially respected, but as
Viet Cong successes mounted in 1960 confidence in Diem’s regime began to wane.
Acutely aware of his need for American assistance in fighting the insurgents, Diem was equally cognisant that he’d be finished if he got it by surrendering his independence. Consequently, though he received U.S. advisory and material aid, he repeatedly refused to reform his administration in exchange.
Wary of being toppled following an assassination attempt in February 1957 and coup d’état effort in late 1960, Diem relied heavily on his trusted family, especially his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu. However, rather than bolstering his authority, the resulting accusations of nepotism, the deteriorating military position and his brutal crackdown on Buddhist demonstrations prompted another revolt. At 1:30pm on November 1st 1963, with a tacit U.S. approval, General Duong Van ("Big") Minh led an assault on the Presidential palace. Diem and his brother initially managed to escape to the Cholon area of Saigon, but after finally surrendering the pair were murdered in the back of an Amored Personnel Carrier.
Far from improving the situation in South Vietnam, Diem’s death brought continued turmoil. In the 19 months that followed Saigon had 13 governments, whilst the Viet Cong strengthened their grip on the countryside.
Related BooksCold War Mandarin: Ngo Dinh Diem and the Origins of America's War in Vietnam, 1950-1963 by Seth Jacobs
Traces the history of the so-called Diem experiment from his first appearance in Washington as a penniless expatriate in 1950 to his murder by South Vietnamese soldiers on the outskirts of Saigon in 1963.
America's Miracle Man in Vietnam: Ngo Dinh Diem, Religion, Race, and U.S. Intervention in Southeast Asia by Seth Jacobs
Rethinks the motivations behind America’s commitment to preserve an independent South Vietnam under the premiership of Ngo Dinh Diem.
Diem's Final Failure: Prelude to America's War in Vietnam by Philip E. Catton
Philip Catton’s penetrating study provides a much more complex portrait of Diem as both a devout patriot and a failed architect of modernization. In doing so, it sheds new light on a controversial regime.