Editing Ngo Dinh Diem (section)

==Becoming Prime Minister and consolidation of power==
Until 1953, the State of Vietnam was nominally independent from Paris. Since dissatisfaction with France and Bảo Đại was rising among non-communist nationalists, and support from non-communist nationalists and Diệm's allies was rising for his "true independence" point of view, Diệm sensed that it was time for him to come to power in Vietnam.{{sfn|Miller|2013|pp=94-95}}[[File:North and south vietnam map.jpg|left|thumb|Map of [[North Vietnam|North]] and [[South Vietnam]], partitioned at the 17th parallel.]]In early 1954, Bảo Đại offered Diệm the position of Prime Minister in the new government in Vietnam. In May 1954, the French surrendered at [[Battle of Dien Bien Phu|Điện Biên Phủ]] and the [[Geneva Conference (1954)|Geneva Conference]] began in April 1954. On 16 June 1954, Diệm met with Bảo Đại in France and agreed to be the Prime Minister if Bảo Đại would give him military and civilian control. On 25 June 1954, Diệm returned from exile, arriving at Tân Sơn Nhứt airport in Saigon. On 7 July 1954, Diệm established his new government with a cabinet of 18 people.{{sfn|Moyar|2006|p=33}}
 
In the first period of his premiership, Diệm did not have much power in the government; he lacked control of the military and police forces, and the civil system's key positions were still held by French officials. He also could not control the Bank of Indochina. Besides, Diệm had to face massive obstacles: refugee issues; the French colonists wanting to remove Diệm to protect France's interest in South Vietnam; General [[Nguyễn Văn Hinh]], a Francophile, the leader of National Army was ready to oust Diệm; the leaders of the [[Hòa Hảo]] and [[Cao Đài]] sectarian armies wanted positions in Diệm's cabinet and complete administrative control over the areas in which they had large numbers of followers; and the major threat of [[Bình Xuyên]], an organized crime syndicate that controlled the National Police led by [[Lê Văn Viễn]], whose power was focused in Saigon.{{sfn|Moyar|2006|p=41}} In summer 1954, the three organizations controlled approximately one-third of the territory and population of South Vietnam.{{sfn|Chapman|2013|p=74}} Besides his own political skills, Diệm had to trust in his relatives and the backing of his American supporters to overcome the obstacles and neutralize his opponents.{{sfn|Moyar|2006|pp=41-42}}
 
=== Partition ===
{{main|Operation Passage to Freedom}}
On 21 July 1954, the Geneva Accords temporarily partitioned Vietnam at the 17th parallel, pending elections in [[1954 Geneva Conference#Provisions|July 1956]] to reunify the country. The [[Democratic Republic of Vietnam]] controlled the north, while the French-backed State of Vietnam controlled the south with Diệm as the Prime Minister. Diệm criticized the French for abandoning [[North Vietnam]] to the Communists at Geneva, claimed that the terms did not represent the will of the Vietnamese people, and refused French suggestions to include more pro-French officials in the government.{{sfn|Chapman|2013|p=69}}
 
The Geneva Accords allowed for freedom of movement between the two zones until October 1954; this put a large strain on the south. Diệm had only expected 10,000 refugees, but by August, there were more than 200,000 waiting for evacuation from Hanoi and [[Hải Phòng]]. Nevertheless, the migration helped to strengthen Diệm's political base of support as the refugees, mostly Catholic, were strongly anti-communist. To deal with the refugee situation, Diem's government arranged for their relocation into fertile and under-populated provinces in the western Mekong Delta. The Diệm regime also provided them with food and shelter, farm tools, and housing materials as well as digging irrigation canals, building [[Levee|dykes]], and dredging swamp-lands to help stabilise their lives.{{sfn|Moyar|2006|p=40}}
 
=== Establishing control ===
[[File:VA066272 Ngô Đình Diệm, Nguyễn Văn Hinh, Nguyễn Văn Xuân and Lê Văn Viễn.jpg|thumb|Prime Minister Diệm (centre-left) meeting with General [[Nguyễn Văn Hinh]], [[Lê Văn Viễn]] and [[Nguyễn Văn Xuân]] in October 1954.|right]]
In August 1954, Diệm also had to face the "Hinh crisis" when Hinh launched a series of public attacks on Diem, proclaiming that South Vietnam needed a “strong and popular” leader, as well as threatening to coup. However, at the end of 1954, Diệm successfully forced Hinh to resign from his post. Hinh had to flee to Paris and hand over his command of the national army to General [[Nguyễn Văn Vy]].<ref name=":4">{{harvnb|Chapman|2013|p= 84}}</ref> But the National Army officers favoured Diệm's leadership over General Vy, which forced him to flee to Paris.{{sfn|Moyar|2006|p=52}} Despite the failure of Hinh's alleged coup, the French continued to encourage Diệm's enemies in an attempt to destabilize him.<ref name=":4"/>
 
On 31 December 1954, Diệm established the [[National Bank of Vietnam]] and replaced the [[French Indochinese piastre|Indochinese banknotes]] with new [[South Vietnamese đồng|Vietnamese banknotes]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HAyCDwAAQBAJ&dq=On+31+December+1954%2C+Di%E1%BB%87m+established+the+National+Bank+of+Vietnam+and+replaced+the+Indochinese+banknotes+with+new+Vietnamese+banknotes&pg=PA66|title=Beyond Political Skin: Colonial to National Economies in Indonesia and Vietnam (1910s–1960s)|page=66|publisher=[[Springer Nature]]|last=Phạm |first=Văn Thuỷ|date=2019|isbn=978-9811337116}}</ref> In early 1955, although American advisors encouraged Diệm to negotiate with the leaders of the political-religious forces who threatened to overthrow his position and to forge an anti-communist bloc, he was determined to attack his enemies to consolidate his power.{{sfn|Chapman|2013|p=75}} In April 1955, Diệm's army forces took most of Bình Xuyên's posts in Saigon after a victory in the [[Battle of Saigon (1955)|Battle of Saigon]]. Within a few months, Diệm's troops wiped out the Bình Xuyên's remnants, leaving only a few small bands, who then joined forces with the communists.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}
 
The defeat of Bình Xuyên increased the authority and prestige of Diệm's government and marked the end of French efforts to remove Diệm.{{sfn|Moyar|2006|pp=51-53}} Most of the Cao Đài leaders chose to rally to Diệm's government.{{sfn|Moyar|2006|p=55}} Diệm then dismantled the private armies of the Cao Đài and Hòa Hảo religious sects. By the end of 1955, Diệm had almost taken control of South Vietnam, and his government was stronger than ever before.{{sfn|Moyar|2006|p=59}} In April 1956, along with the capture of [[Ba Cụt]], the leader of the last Hòa Hảo rebels, Diệm almost subdued all of his non-communist enemies, and could focus on his Vietnamese communist opponents.{{sfn|Chapman|2013|p=128}} According to Miller, Diệm's capacity in subduing his enemies and consolidating his power strengthened U.S. support of his government, although the U.S. government had planned to withdraw its backing from Diệm during his early difficult years of leadership.{{sfn|Miller|2013|p=6}}