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Ho Chi MinhHo proclaimed the republic of Vietnam in Sept., 1945, and later agreed that it would remain an autonomous state within the French Union. Differences with the French, however, soon led (1946) to an open break. Warfare lasted until 1954, culminating in the French defeat at Dienbienphu. After the Geneva Conference (1954), which divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel, Ho became the first president of the independent republic of North Vietnam. The accord also provided for elections to be held in 1956, aimed at reuniting North and South Vietnam; however, South Vietnam, backed by the United States, refused to hold the elections. The reason was generally held to be that Ho's popularity would have led to reunification under Communist rule. In succeeding years, Ho consolidated his government in the North. He organized a guerrilla movement in the South, the National Liberation Front, or Viet Cong, which was technically independent of North Vietnam, to win South Vietnam from the successive U.S.-supported governments there (see Vietnam War).
See biographies by J. Lacouture (1968), D. Halberstam (1971), J. Sainteny (1972), C. Fenn (1974), D. O. Lloyd (1986), and W. J. Duiker (2000).
The Columbia Encyclopedia. Copyright © 2001-09 Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
- Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, city (1997 pop. 5,250,000), on the right bank of the Saigon River, a tributary of the Dong Nai, Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city, the greatest p...
- Cholon
Cholon, district and former city, since 1932 part of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; on the right bank of the Saigon River, a tributary of the Dong Nai. Cholon is the Chinese section of Ho Chi Minh...
- Dienbienphu
Dienbienphu or Dien Bien Phu, former French military base, N Vietnam, near the Laos border. It was the scene in 1954 of the last great battle between the French and the Viet Minh forces of Ho ...
- Ton Duc Thang
Ton Duc Thang, 1888–1980, Vietnamese politician. He was an early supporter of Ho Chi Minh and was imprisoned (1929–45) by the French colonial regime. After Vietnamese independence, he rose qui...
- Bien Hoa
Bien Hoa, city (1989 est. pop. 313,816), S Vietnam, c.20 mi (30 km) NE of Ho Chi Minh City. It is famous for its handmade pottery. In the city are sawmills and granite quarries. There is a com...
- Dong Nai
Dong Nai or Donnai, river, c.300 mi (480 km) long, rising as the Da Dung in the mountains of S central Vietnam. It flows SW past Bien Hoa and joins with the Saigon River below Ho Chi Minh City...
- Pleiku
Pleiku or Play Ku, town, central Vietnam. A highway junction for roads going east (to Quy Nhon), west (to Cambodia), north (to Da Nang), and south (to Ho Chi Minh City), it was a large U.S. ba...
- Tay Ninh
Tay Ninh, city, S Vietnam, NW of Ho Chi Minh City. It is the center of the Cao Dai, a politically active religious group that was suppressed by South Vietnamese forces after an armed insurrect...
- Calmette, Léon Charles Albert
Calmette, Léon Charles Albert, 1863–1933, French physician and bacteriologist. He was founder and director of the Pasteur institutes at Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) and at Lille. From 1917 he...
- Giap, Vo Nguyen
Giap, Vo Nguyen, 1911–, soldier and government official of North Vietnam and later of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. A nationalist, he joined the Vietnamese Communist party in the 1930s, l...
