Nguyễn Văn Thiệu (English: /nəˈɡuːjɨn væn ˈtjuː/, Vietnamese: [ŋʷjə̌ˀn van tʰjə̂ˀw] ( listen); 5 April 1923 – 29 September 2001) was president of South Vietnam from 1965-75. He was a general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), became head of a military junta, and then president after winning a fraudulent election. He established an authoritarian rule over South Vietnam until he resigned and left the nation a few days before the fall of...
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Nguyễn Văn Thiệu (English: /nəˈɡuːjɨn væn ˈtjuː/, Vietnamese: [ŋʷjə̌ˀn van tʰjə̂ˀw] ( listen); 5 April 1923 – 29 September 2001) was president of South Vietnam from 1965-75. He was a general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), became head of a military junta, and then president after winning a fraudulent election. He established an authoritarian rule over South Vietnam until he resigned and left the nation a few days before the fall of Saigon and the ultimate communist victory.
Born in the southern coast town of Phan Rang, Thiệu was a descendent of the Tran Dinh dynasty of Annamese nobles. Thiệu initially joined the communist-dominated Việt Minh of Hồ Chí Minh but quit after a year and joined the Vietnamese National Army (VNA) of the French-backed State of Vietnam. He gradually rose up the ranks and, in 1954, led a battalion in expelling the communists from his native village. Following the withdrawal of the French, the VNA became the ARVN and Thiệu was the head of the...
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