Ngo Dinh Diem

Ngo Dinh Diem , 1901-63, president of South Vietnam (1955-63). A member of an influential Roman Catholic family, he was a civil servant before World War II and was connected with the nationalists during the war. He repeatedly refused high office with the government of Bao Dai until 1954, when he became prime minister. In 1955 he controlled a referendum that abolished the monarchy and emerged as South Vietnam's ruler. With strong backing from the United States, Diem initially made some progress, but his favoritism toward his family and toward Roman Catholics over Buddhists caused substantial criticism by the early 1960s. Opposition grew as Diem's authoritarianism increased and as South Vietnam's position in the Vietnam War deteriorated. With the apparent connivance of the U.S. government, a group of dissident generals staged a coup in 1963, and Diem was murdered during the takeover.

Ngo Dinh Diem (1901–63) South Vietnamese statesman, President (1955–63). He was exiled by the French in 1947 after forming the anti-French and anti-communist National Union Front. He returned to South Vietnam in 1954 with joint US and French support and, in the following year, became President of an anti-communist government of South Vietnam. He had commenced military resistance against the VIETCONG by 1960 and had achieved some degree of success with both social and economic reform. However, his harshly repressive regime, in which his brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu, earned particular notoriety as head of political police, aroused strong local resentment and he was killed in a military coup in 1963.