Ngo Dinh Diem

Ngô Đình Diệm Jean Baptiste (???, approximately pronounced "Ngoh Din Yim"{{Audio|NgoDinhDiem.ogg|listen}}) (January 3, 1901 – November 2, 1963) was the first President of the Republic of Vietnam (1955–63). It is worth noting that according to the namings of Diệm's relatives, the family name for Diệm appears to be Ngô Đình, instead of the conventional Ngô. Ngô Đình Diệm was unmarried; thus his sister-in-law, Madame Nhu, was regarded as the First Lady of South Vietnam.

U.S. ties

Diệm forged a relationship with the United States for support, while retaining policies that were hostile toward the Buddhist majority and biased in favor of the minority Roman Catholic population (of which Diệm was a member). The United States supported Diệm out of concern that the North's Communist influence, growing more popular, would permeate South Vietnam. The U.S. government publicly worried that corruption in a democratic referendum would inevitably lead to the installation of a Communist government. Claims of corruption were merely political rhetoric, however. Hồ Chí Minh and his communist policies were popular, and Diệm was not. President Eisenhower himself commented that given a democratic election, a socialist government would no doubt win. The United States did not want South Vietnam to be ruled by a Communist government, and so the U.S. continued to provide Diệm with support, in spite of his weak rule and unpopularity.

Related Topics:
Roman Catholic - North - Eisenhower

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Diệm's acquiescence to large-scale support by the United States ensured his political dominance, but also rendered his government subordinate to U.S. decision-making.

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Diệm's ineffective land reforms are thought to have contributed to increasing popular support in the South for Hồ Chí Minh and his "reforms" in the North. Diệm also abused his power to support minority Catholics. The enforcement of his Catholic "moral values" was often unpopular and the Buddhist community resented the favoritism he showed to his fellow Catholics. While the U.S. had supported Diệm's rise to power, it grew frustrated by his desire for independence from U.S. command. The nominal U.S. support he retained was based on a situational allegiance only, and the U.S. grew increasingly wary of Diệm's ineffectiveness as President, just as Diệm and his family circle grew increasingly wary of U.S. intentions.

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U.S. strategists had originally hoped that Diệm could be the charismatic equivalent of Hồ Chí Minh, and thus be a popular and viable counterweight to Hồ Chí Minh's popularity. As Diệm showed to be unsuited to role the U.S. had written for him, the opinions of these strategists began to change in the 1960s. U.S. planners complained, claiming to be annoyed that Diệm had not implemented land reforms to compete with the highly popular Communist program, and further claimed that the nepotism and corruption in his government was hurting the South Vietnamese cause.

Related Topics:
Charismatic - 1960s

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