Ngo Dinh Nhu
(1910–1963), Vietnamese politician. Younger brother of Ngo Dinh Diem (1901–1963), the first president of South Vietnam, and husband of Madame Nhu (b. 1924, formerly Tran Le Xuan), Ngo Dinh Nhu served as an agent against French rule in Vietnam and later at the side of his brother after Diem was elected president in 1955. Known as an exceptional organizer and a poor administrator, Nhu began his national political life in 1953 in Saigon, organizing demonstrations against the Communists and the French and planning the overthrow of the regime of Emperor Bao Dai (1913–1997). He organized the National Union for Independence and Peace, and, with the support of the Binh Xuyen gang of river pirates and the Cao Dai and Hoa Hao religious sects, attempted a premature ouster of Bao Dai that failed. Nhu then organized, in 1954, a coalition called the Front for National Salvation, made up of the political-religious sects, the Catholics, the Dai Viet, and other nationalist groups, which intended to solidify his brother's ascent to the head of a new government while also publicly denouncing the Communists.
In June 1954, in the face of Nhu and Diem's activity, Bao Dai invited Diem to form a new government as prime minister. After his brother was in power, Nhu organized the Revolutionary Personalist Labor Party, an organization made up of small covert security, political, and labor groups that reported on opponents of the Diem regime. Along with Diem, he moved to consolidate power by crushing all opposition, including his former supporters, the Binh Xuyen and the religious sects. While this process was under way, Nhu masterminded the plan to gain the final removal of Bao Dai. He organized a group (the General Assembly of Democratic and Revolutionary Forces of the Nation) in April 1955 to demonstrate against the emperor and call for his abdication. In the wake of this movement, Diem was able to call for national elections to determine the new government, elections which he rigged with Nhu's assistance, and easily won. Again, the brothers attempted to further consolidate power and crush all opposition. The corruption and brutality of the brothers' regime, coupled with the inflammatory statements made by Madame Nhu, eventually caught up with them and led to a 1 November 1963 coup, unopposed by the United States, that saw both Nhu and Diem assassinated.
Further Reading
Boettcher, Thomas D. (1985) Vietnam: The Valor and the Sorrow. Boston: Little, Brown.
Jamieson, Neil L. (1993). Understanding Vietnam. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
Karnow, Stanley. (1991) Vietnam: A History. New York: Viking.
Tucker, Spencer C., ed. (1998) Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press.
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