Republic of South Vietnam
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The Republic of South Vietnam (Vietnamese: Cộng Hòa Miền Nam Việt Nam) was the provisional government of South Vietnam following the final military defeat of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, on April 28, 1975. The Republic of South Vietnam existed for 15 months. On July 2, 1976, the Republic of South Vietnam and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) were officially reunified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
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[edit] Government
The government of the Republic of South Vietnam was the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (Vietnamese: Chính Phủ Cách Mạng Lâm Thời Cộng Hòa Miền Nam Việt Nam), often abbreviated to PRG.
[edit] History
The Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (PRG) was an provisional government formed on June 8, 1969 in opposition to the Nguyen Van Thieu government of the Republic of Vietnam.
The PRG was constituted by the National Liberation Front (NLF); the Alliance of National, Democratic and Peace Forces; and the People's Revolutionary Party and consequently reflected a number of nationalist, anti-imperialist and communist political viewpoints, including the Vietnam Workers Party. Following the military and political results of the 1968 Tet and related military offensives in the South, in which the NLF suffered serious military losses, the PRG was envisioned as a political counter-force that could influence international public opinion in support of national independence and in opposition to the U.S. and the Republic of Vietnam.[1]
The declared purpose of the PRG was to provide a formal NLF governmental structure and enhance its claim of representing "the Southern people".[2] Included in this strategy was the pursuit of a negotiated settlement to the war leading to reunification. It was organized during the initial phase of the U.S. policy of Vietnamization, which was devised by U.S. President Richard Nixon and his national security advisor Henry Kissinger early in their administration and which emulated the jaunissement policy pursued earlier by the French during their colonial rule of Indochina.
During the period 1969-1970, most of the PRG's cabinet ministries operated near the Cambodia border. These areas were targeted by the invasion of Cambodia, in April 1970, attempted by ARVN and US forces. The central bodies of the PRG thus functioned as a government in exile. The PRG maintained diplomatic relations with many so-called 'non-aligned' countries, such as Algeria, as well as with the Soviet Union and with the Peoples Republic of China.
After the surrender of Saigon on April 30, 1975, the PRG assumed power in the South and subsequently participated in the political reunification of the country.
[edit] Personnel
| Post | Name | Took Office | Left Office | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chairman of Government (Prime Minister) | Huynh Tan Phat | 8 June 1969 | 2 July 1976 | None |
| Vice-Chairman | Phung Van Cung | 8 June 1969 | ? | |
| Vice-Chairman | Nguyen Van Kiet | 8 June 1969 | ? | |
| Vice-Chairman | Nguyen Doa | 8 June 1969 | ? | |
| Minister of Defense | Tram Nam Trung | 8 June 1969 | ? | |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | Nguyen Thi Binh | 8 June 1969 | ? | |
| Minister of the Interior | Phung Van Cung | 8 June 1969 | ? | |
| Minister of Justice | Truong Nhu Tang | 8 June 1969 | ? | |
| Minister of Economy and Finance | Cao Van Bon | 8 June 1969 | ? | |
| Minister of Information and Culture | Luu Huu Phuoc | 8 June 1969 | ? | |
| Minister of Education and Youth | Nguyen Van Kiet | 8 June 1969 | ? | |
| Minister of Health, Social Action and Disabled Soldiers | Duong Quynh Hoa | 8 June 1969 | ? |
[edit] National anthem
The national anthem of the Government was "To Liberate the South" (Vietnamese: "Giải phóng miền Nam"). The song was written in 1961 by Luu Huu Phuoc (Vietnamese: Lưu Hữu Phước, 1921-1989) and adopted at that time as the anthem of the National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam.
[edit] Vietnamese wordsGiải phóng miền Nam, chúng ta cùng quyết tiến bước. |
[edit] English TranslationTo liberate the South, we decided to advance. |
[edit] Notes
- ^ Truong Nhu Tang. 1986. A Viet Cong Memoir. Vintage.
- ^ Truong Nhu Tang. 1986. A Viet Cong Memoir. Vintage. p. 146-147.
[edit] Further reading
- Truong Nhu Tang, with David Chanoff, Doan Van Toai. 1985. A Viet Cong Memoir. New York. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
- Truong Nhu Tang, with David Chanoff, Doan Van Toai. 1986. A Viet Cong Memoir. New York. Vintage.
[edit] External links
Government
Leaders
National anthem
- "Ethnic Music" Room (“Words” is Japanese version only.)
| Preceded by Republic of Việt Nam |
Republic of South Việt Nam 1975 - 1976 |
Succeeded by Socialist Republic of Việt Nam |
