Gourt Home::Gourt :: Ngo Dinh Diem
«ngoh dihn zih-ehm» (January 3, 1901 – November 2, 1963) was the first President of the Republic of Vietnam (1955–63). Ngô Đình Diệm was unmarried; thus his sister-in-law, Madame Nhu, was regarded as the First Lady of South Vietnam.
It should be noted that apparently, the ancestors of Diệm asserted its separateness from other families with the surname of Ngô by preserving a similar middle name, Đình. This might cause some to believe that the family's name is Ngô Đình.
Rise to power
Ngô Đình Diệm was born in Huế, the original capital of the Nguyễn Dynasty of Vietnam. The Ngô family is Catholic. He was one of the highest ranking officials of the Nguyễn Dynasty under Emperor Bảo Đại before World War II but resigned after accusing the Emperor of being a "tool" of the French. He was nationalistic, devout Catholic, and anti-Communist; his elder brother, Ngô Đình Thuc, was the archbishop of Huế.
In 1945 he was imprisoned and exiled to China following conflicts with anti-French Communist forces that were gaining power in Vietnam. After his release, he refused to join in the brief post-war government of Hồ Chí Minh and went into exile in the United States. He returned to be appointed Prime Minister of South Vietnam by Emperor Bảo Đại in 1954, following the French withdrawal.
When the referendum was held, Diệm's troops guarded the polls and those who attempted to vote for the Emperor were assaulted. Diệm's detractors say that the fraud was obvious. In Saigon, for example, Diệm claimed more votes than there were registered voters in the entire area. Emperor Bảo Đại was forced to abdicate rather than divide the country further and issued one last appeal for the country to unite under a democratic government. Diệm's American advisors were frustrated by this, as no one believed the long-absent former monarch could have posed much of a popular threat from his château in France.
Rule
Diệm's rule was firm but was accused of nepotism. His most trusted official was his brother, Ngô Đình Nhu, leader of the primary pro-Diệm political party. Ngô Đình Can, his other brother, he put in charge of the former Imperial City of Huế. Another brother, Ngô Đình Luyen, he appointed Ambassador to the United Kingdom and also put him in charge of the Cham people, minorities in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.
His brother Nhu's wife, Madame Nhu, was South Vietnam's First Lady and she led the way in Diệm's programs to reform Saigon society in accordance with their Catholic values. Brothels and opium dens were closed, divorce and abortion made illegal, and adultery laws were strengthened. Diệm also won a street war with the forces of the gangster Le Van Vien, the notorious ruler of the Cholon brothels and gambling houses who had enjoyed special favors under the French and Bảo Đại. Diệm was also passionately anti-Communist. Tortures and killings of communist suspects were committed on a daily basis. A member of the Catholic Vietnamese minority, Diệm's pursuit of pro-Catholic policies antagonized many of Vietnam's Buddhists. State police were often accused of assaulting Buddhists (the religious majority in the country). Buddhist activists staged mass protests and even self-immolations culminating in several coups attempts, the final one resulting in Diệm's own murder.
U.S. ties
Diệm forged a relationship with the United States for support, while retaining policies that were independent from the United States.
Coup and assassination
When the regime turned on a protest by Buddhist monks in May 1963, the U.S. stopped giving aid. A number of monks publicly immolated themselves in protest, and the U.S. grew intensely annoyed with Diệm's unpopular public image. Diệm and Madame Nhu claimed that the Communists had infiltrated the Buddhist groups. Their crackdown was in accordance with the agreed-upon anti-Communist policy. Madame Nhu infamously referred to the incident as a "barbecuing."
On orders from U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Henry Cabot Lodge, the American ambassador to South Vietnam, refused to meet with Diệm. Upon hearing that a coup d'etat was being designed by ARVN Generals led by General Dương Văn Minh, the United States gave secret assurances to the generals that the U.S. would not interfere. Dương Văn Minh and his fellow plotters overthrew the government and executed President Diệm and his younger brother, Ngô Đình Nhu, on November 2, 1963. The United States publicly expressed shock and disappointment that Diệm had been killed. Coincidentally, U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated just twenty days later. Some Vietnamese believed it was Diem's ghost that went for revenge since President Kennedy approved the coup.
When Madame Nhu, visiting the United States at the time, learned of the coup d'etat, she immediately identified the United States as the perpetrator. She later said, "Whoever has the Americans as allies does not need enemies." Madame Nhu went on to predict a dark future for Vietnam and that, by being involved in the coup, the troubles of the United States in Vietnam were only beginning.
Repercussions of Diệm's assassination
After the assassination of Ngô Đình Diệm, the U.S. was able to continue to influence the government of South Vietnam, facilitating the election of officials who supported their policies. Among the many who know of the political situations surrounding his death, Ngô Đình Diệm's assassination is considered the decisive political moment during which the Vietnam War was lost. As a result of the solidified American presence post-assassination, internal turmoil existed among South Vietnamese, as soldiers found themselves forced to decide between Communist interests and American interests. The assassination also bolstered the North Vietnamese attempts to characterize the South Vietnamese as supporters of colonization.
Further reading
- Richard Reeves. 1994. President Kennedy: Profile of Power. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-67-189289-4.
- Frances Fitzgerald. 1972. Fire in the Lake: The Vietnamese and Americans in Vietnam. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0-31-615919-0, ISBN 0-67-972394-3, ISBN 0-31-628423-8.
- Robert Mann. 2001. A Grand Delusion: America's Descent into Vietnam. New York: Perseus. ISBN 0-46-504370-4, ISBN 0-46-504369-0.
- Hilaire du Berrier. 1965. Background to Betrayal.
- Le Xuan Nhuan. 1996. Về Vùng Chiến Tuyến. Westminster: Van Nghe. ISBN 1-886566-15-1.
- David Halberstam. 1969. The Best and the Brightest. ISBN 0-449-90870-4.
See also
External links
- The Religious Beginnings of an Unholy War - Avro Manhattan
- JFK and the Diệm Coup - Provided by the National Security Archive.
- Diệm Biography From Spartacus Educational
- Photos of Diệm's family
1901 births | 1963 deaths | Executed presidents | Deaths by firearm | National liberation movements | Ngo family | Roman Catholics | Vietnam War people | Vietnamese murder victims | Assassinated politicians
Ngô Đình Diệm | نگو دین دیم | Ngô Dinh Diêm | Ngo Dinh Diem | Ngo Dinh Diem | ゴ・ディン・ジエム | Ngô Đình Diệm | Нго Динь Зьем | Ngo Dinh Diem | Ngo Dinh Diem | Ngô Đình Diệm | 吳廷琰
"Ngo Dinh Diem"