(b. 1923), president of the Republic of Vietnam (1967–1975). A career military officer, Nguyen Van Thieu graduated from Vietnam's National Military Academy in 1949 and the Command and General Staff Office at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1957.
Thieu participated in the November 1963 coup that brought down President Ngo Dinh Diem (1901–1963) and served briefly as deputy premier before becoming chief of state in the government of Nguyen Cao Ky (b. 1930) from 1965 to 1967. Thieu defeated Ky in the 1967 presidential election and consolidated political power in the post of the presidency. In a power-sharing arrangement, Ky remained premier, though the post was stripped of much of its power. Ky also became Thieu's vice-presidential running mate. Thieu failed to broaden his base of popular support, especially in the countryside, where he was unable to implement meaningful land reform, while urbanites were frustrated by his repression and widespread corruption, and hence he had to rely on an enlarged military to consolidate his power. In 1971, Thieu disqualified his election challengers, including his vice president, Nguyen Cao Ky, while disastrous 1971–1972 offensives against the North Vietnamese during the Vietnam War (1954–1975) weakened his regime.
Because Thieu was unwilling to negotiate with North Vietnam, which demanded his resignation, U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger began meeting secretly with representatives from North Vietnam. Upset with the draft peace agreement, Thieu made twenty-six changes but signed under intense U.S. pressure. Thieu tried to consolidate power after the Paris Peace Accords and went on the offensive, but his forces were no match for the North Vietnamese troops, who occupied much of South Vietnam. On 21 April 1975, days before the Communists took control, Thieu resigned and fled Vietnam; he lives in exile in America.
Nguyen Van Thieu in 1969. (BETTMANN/CORBIS) Young, Marilyn B. (1991) The Vietnam Wars 1945–1990 New York: HarperCollins.
