SUMMARY
The Government of South Vietnam (alternatively Government of the Republic of Vietnam) was a state actor that existed in the UCDP data until 1975. In July 1954, the so-called Paris Accords were signed to end the almost decade-long (1946-1954) conflict between French colonial forces and the Vietnamese independence movement Viet Minh, which was led by Ho Chi Minh. The Paris Accords stipulated a temporary partition of Vietnam along the 17th Parallel, with the northern part of the country becoming the Democratic Republic of Vietnam ruled by Ho Chi Minh’s Communist Party, and the southern part becoming the State of Vietnam nominally ruled by former Vietnamese emperor Bao Dai. The Accords also stipulated that the future of a reunified Vietnam would be decided via election in both north and south in 1956. The southern State of Vietnam was however destabilized by factional infighting, and by subversive activities from remaining Viet Minh operatives.
By 1955, the prime minister of the State of Vietnam – Ngo Din Diem – had successfully defeated all domestic opposition in the south, not in small part because of help from United States military advisors and financial aid. Diem was overtly opposed to the proposed 1956 elections, and after strengthening his political position, he declared himself President of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) in October 1955. Diem’s regime was characterized by authoritarian rule and nepotism; for example, President Diem mostly trusted his own family, with his brother Ngo Dinh Nuh occupying an important position within the regime. President Diem was also vehemently anti-Communist, and crackdowns against political opposition in South Vietnam’s countryside coincided with the emergence of the National Liberation Front (NLF, or “Viet Cong”) insurgency organization. For the duration of Diem’s regime, the Government of South Vietnam – supported by the United States - was engaged in a protracted armed conflict against the Viet Cong, which from 1960 was supported by the Government of North Vietnam. In 1963, the increasingly erratic rule of President Diem and his family triggered protests across South Vietnam, particularly among the Buddhist population; there was also a widespread concern that Diem could not contain the Viet Cong insurgency. On 1 November 1963, the South Vietnamese Army (commonly called ARVN, “Army of the Republic of Vietnam) staged a coup in the South Vietnamese capital Saigon, capturing the Presidential palace and killing Diem and his brother Nhu.
From the 1963 coup until 1967, South Vietnam was ruled by a military dictatorship. The first military head of state – with the formal title “Head of the Military Revolutionary Council” - was Duong Van Minh, a general who had been a leading figure in the coup against Diem. During 1964 and 1965, there was several rounds of intra-military power struggle in Vietnam, resulting in the creation of several consecutive ruling juntas. It was not until June 1965 that General Nguyen Van Thieu was able to consolidate the hold on power. During the rule of the military juntas, the intrastate conflict between the Government of South Vietnam and Viet Cong gradually evolved into an interstate conflict between North Vietnam and South Vietnam in 1965. During this period, there was also an increased international involvement, with for example the United States committing fighting ground troops to support the South Vietnamese government in 1965. In 1967 – following United States pressure for political reform – South Vietnam conveyed presidential and legislative elections, resulting in junta leader Thieu being elected president. However, there was no marked change in the governance of South Vietnam, and President Thieu continued to rely heavily on the military.
No exact figure on the available number of South Vietnamese troops in 1975 were found. The Government of South Vietnam most likely had access to hundreds of thousands of soldiers supported by hundreds of armored vehicles and military aircraft; however, it was unclear exactly how many were deployed in the fighting against North Vietnam.
Even if the United States provided considerable non-warring and warring secondary support to the Government of South Vietnam, this support was waning by the mid-1970s. Following the signing of a ceasefire agreement in 1973, the United States withdrew its fighting troops from Vietnam the same year. Similarly, all financial support to the Government of South Vietnam was discontinued after 1974. As such, the Government of South Vietnam did not receive any secondary support in 1975.
In the spring of 1975, the Government of North Vietnam launched its final offensive against South Vietnam; on 21 April, the South Vietnamese President Thieu resigned and flew to Taiwan. On 30 April, the remaining South Vietnamese government surrendered and the North Vietnamese army seized full control over Saigon, the South Vietnamese capital. After this, the Government of South Vietnam ceased to exist in the UCDP data. On 2 July 1976, North and South Vietnam were unified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, with Hanoi as its capital.
