A referendum was held in the State of Vietnam to determine whether the country was a republic or monarchy. It was primarily a contest between Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm, who proposed a republic, and
Ngô Đình Diệm declared himself president of the newly proclaimed Republic of Vietnam after referendum vote.
Anti-Bảo Đại revolutionists at Saigon City Hall, May 1955
Colonel Edward Lansdale, who helped Diệm in his campaign
Banner calling for the deposition of Bảo Đại
South Vietnam
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The Republic of Vietnam, commonly known as South Vietnam, was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered recognition in 1949 as the associated State of Vietnam withi
1955 State of Vietnam referendum
…the consequences of failing to vote. After his brother Ngô Đình Nhu had rigged the referendum, Diệm proclaimed himself president of the newly created Republic of Vietnam on 26 October 1955. A year later, the republic promulgated a constitution and established its own parliament. The defeat of the French Union forces at…
Affiche for the 1953 municipal election in Hanoi
Nearly one million refugees fled communist North Vietnam during the Great Migration.
President Diem welcomed by King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, Bangkok 1957.
President Diem and US Deputy Secretary of Defense Donald A. Quarles review the honor guard at the Pentagon, Virginia 1957.