Ngo Dinh Diem

Ngô Đình Diệm ( dyem, YEE-əm or zeem; Vietnamese: [ŋō ɗìn jîəmˀ] ; 3 January 1901 – 2 November 1963) was a South Vietnamese politician. He 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 assassination during the CIA-backed 1963 coup d'état.

Diệm was born into a prominent Catholic family with his father, Ngô Đình Khả, being a high-ranking mandarin for Emperor Thành Thái during the French colonial era. Diệm was educated at French-speaking schools and considered following his brother Ngô Đình Thục into the priesthood, but eventually chose to pursue a career in the civil service. He progressed rapidly in the court of Emperor Bảo Đại, becoming governor of Bình Thuận Province in 1929 and interior minister in 1933. However, he resigned from the latter position after three months and publicly denounced the emperor as a tool of France. Diệm came to support Vietnamese nationalism, promoting both anti-communism, in opposition to Ho Chi Minh, and decolonization, in opposition to Bảo Đại. He established the Cần Lao Party to support his political doctrine of Person Dignity Theory, which was a blend of the philosophies of Personalism, especially as understood by French philosopher Emmanuel Mounier, and of Confucianism, which Diệm and his father had greatly admired. Diệm supported the Confucian concept of "Mandate of Heaven", and wished to make it the basis of political theory that would emerge in Vietnam.

After several years in exile in Japan, the United States, and Europe, Diệm returned home in July 1954 and was appointed prime minister by Bảo Đại. The 1954 Geneva Conference took place soon after he took office, formally partitioning Vietnam along the 17th parallel. Diệm, with the aid of his younger brother Ngô Đình Nhu, soon consolidated power in South Vietnam. After the 1955 State of Vietnam referendum, he proclaimed the creation of the Republic of Vietnam, with himself as president. His government was supported by other anti-communist countries, most notably the United States. Diệm pursued a series of nation-building projects, promoting industrial and rural development. From 1957 onward, as part of the Vietnam War, he faced several assassination and coup attempts, and a communist insurgency backed by North Vietnam. This insurgency eventually formally organized under the banner of the Viet Cong. In 1962, Diệm established the Strategic Hamlet Program as the cornerstone of his counterinsurgency effort.

In 1963, Diệm's favoritism towards Catholics and persecution of practitioners of Buddhism in Vietnam led to the Buddhist crisis. The event damaged relations with the United States and other previously sympathetic countries, and his organization lost favor with the leadership of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. On 1 November 1963, the country's leading generals launched a coup d'état with assistance from the Central Intelligence Agency. Diệm and his brother, Nhu, initially escaped, but were recaptured the following day and assassinated on the orders of Dương Văn Minh, who succeeded him as president.

Awards: Order of Merit for National Foundation, Order of Sikatuna, Order of the Southern Cross, Order of the White Lion, Order of the Crown of the Realm, Order of the Netherlands Lion, Order of St. Olav, National Order of Vietnam, Order of the Liberator General San Martín, Order of Chula Chom Klao Education: Quốc Học – Huế High School for the Gifted, University of Michigan, École d'Apprentis Mandarins

Source: Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngo_Dinh_Diem