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Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam

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This article is about the country under a provisional government within the jurisdiction of Southern Vietnam. For the entity known from 1948 to 1949 as the Provisional Government of South Vietnam, see French Cochinchina.
"Republic of South Vietnam" redirects here. For the U.S. backed state commonly known as South Vietnam, but official called the Republic of Vietnam, see South Vietnam.

Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam
(1969–1975)
Chính phủ Cách mạng Lâm thời Cộng hòa miền Nam Việt Nam
Republic of South Vietnam
(1975–1976)
Cộng hòa miền Nam Việt Nam
1969–1976
Flag of Viet Cong
Motto: Độc lập – Dân chủ – Hòa bình – Trung lập[1]
"Independence – Democracy – Peace – Neutrality"
Anthem: Giải phóng miền Nam
"Liberate the South"
Military emblem of the Liberation Army of South Vietnam
Republic of South Vietnam (dark green) after the Fall of Saigon.
Republic of South Vietnam (dark green) after the Fall of Saigon.
StatusRival government in opposition to the Republic of Vietnam (1969–1975)
Client state of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (1975–1976)
CapitalTây Ninh (1969–1972)
Lộc Ninh (1972–1973)
Cam Lộ (1973–1975)
Saigon – Gia Dinh (1975–1976)
Common languagesVietnamese
Religion
Vietnamese folk religion
Buddhism
Caodaism
Christianity
GovernmentUnitary communist state under a provisional government
Chairman of Consultative Council 
• 1969–1976
Nguyễn Hữu Thọ
Chairman of government 
• 1969–1976
Huỳnh Tấn Phát
LegislaturePeople's Assembly
Historical era
• Government formed
8 June 1969
30 April 1975
2 July 1976
Area
1975173,809 km2 (67,108 sq mi)
CurrencyLiberation dong
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Republic of Vietnam
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Today part ofVietnam

The Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (PRG, Vietnamese: Chính phủ Cách mạng Lâm thời Cộng hòa miền Nam Việt Nam, chữ Hán: 政府革命臨時共和面南越南), was formed on 8 June 1969, by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), as an armed rival government opposing the government of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) under President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu. Delegates of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (Viet Cong), as well as several smaller groups, participated in its creation.

The PRG was recognized as the government of South Vietnam by most communist states and Malta.[2] It signed the 1973 Paris Peace Treaty as an independent entity, separate from both South Vietnam and North Vietnam. After the Fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975, the PRG formally replaced the Republic of Vietnam to become the nominal and representative government of South Vietnam under the official name Republic of South Vietnam (Vietnamese: Cộng hòa miền Nam Việt Nam), inheriting all properties, rights, obligations and sovereignty representation of the Republic of Vietnam. On 2 July 1976, the Republic of South Vietnam and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam constitutionally merged to form the current Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

History

The Provisional Revolutionary Government was preceded by the Vietnam Alliance of National, Democratic, and Peaceful Forces (VANDPF)[3][failed verification – see discussion] made up of anti-government forces and headed by Trinh Dinh Thao.[4] The Alliance was a collection of individuals who wanted a new South Vietnamese government but disagreed with the ever-present Northern Communist presence.[citation needed]

Discussions about forming an alliance had begun as early as 1966, but plans were disrupted when South Vietnamese intelligence agents apprehended a prominent anti-government figure, Ba Tra. Ba Tra gave the South Vietnamese government extensive information on anti-government forces working in the city.[5] This setback was compounded by his identification of one of the key cadre in the financial division.[5]

Under torture, Ba Tra identified more figures in the underground, who were then arrested. By 1967, the entire Saigon organization had been sent further underground.[6]

In early 1969, the then-new American president, Richard Nixon, started a process of Vietnamization to allow the American Armed Forces to withdraw from South Vietnam.[7]

1969–1975

On 8 June 1969 delegates from the Vietcong, the VANDPF, the People's Revolutionary Party (the South Vietnamese communist party) and "the usual assortment of mass organizations, ethnic groups, and geopolitical regions" met off Route 22 in Cambodia's Fishhook region and formed the Provisional Revolutionary Government (PRG).[7] Banners displayed prominently at the convention proclaimed that "South Vietnam is independent, democratic, peaceful, and neutral".[7]

Following the military and political results of the 1968 Tet Offensive and related military offensives in the South by Saigon and the United States, in which the Vietcong suffered serious military losses, the PRG was envisioned as a political counter-force that could influence international public opinion in support of reunification and in opposition to the United States and South Vietnam.[8]

The declared purpose of the PRG was to provide a formal governmental structure to the NLF and enhance its claim of representing "the Southern people".[9] Included in this strategy was the pursuit of a negotiated settlement to the war leading to reunification, organized during the initial phase of Vietnamization. According to Justice Minister Trương Như Tảng, the new group's main purpose was to help the NLF "acquire a new international stature."[8]

During 1969–70, most of the PRG's cabinet ministries operated near the Cambodian border. Starting on 29 March to late April 1970, the US and South Vietnamese offensives forced the PRG to flee deeper into Cambodia. The stressful escape caused many of the PRG officials (such as Trương Như Tạng) to need extensive medical furloughs. After Trương Như Tạng returned, he noticed that new cadres from the north were causing problems for the non-communist members of the PRG.[10] One member in particular, Ba Cap, harshly denounced most of the PRG as bourgeois.[11] Tạng complained to the higher members of the DRV government, but was rebuffed. Tạng later saw this as the point when the PRG turned from being an independent South Vietnam-based alternative government to being a mouthpiece for the communist movement.[12]

The central bodies of the PRG functioned as a provisional government. The PRG maintained diplomatic relations with many countries of the Non-Aligned Movement, such as Algeria and SFR Yugoslavia[13] as well as with the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China.

1975–1976

After the Fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975, the PRG assumed power in South Vietnam and subsequently participated in the reunification of Vietnam.

According to professor Ngô Vĩnh Long (University of Maine), in mid-July 1975, the delegates of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (Nguyễn Văn Lưu) and the Republic of South Vietnam (Đinh Bá Thi) applied to join the United Nations (UN) as two independent member states. However, both countries failed in joining the United Nations due to American vetoes on 11 August and 30 September 1975 as the USSR and China refused to allow South Korea to join the organization on 6 August. However, North Vietnam and North Vietnamese-occupied South Vietnam became two UN observers in 1975.[14][15] Kuwait was the last country to recognize and establish diplomatic relations with the Republic of South Vietnam on 22 and 24 January 1976, before North and South Vietnam were eventually reunited on 2 July 1976.


Government and politics

The Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam was centralised as apart of the ideology of democratic centralism.[16]

Cabinet

Post Name Took office Left office Party
Chairman of Consultative Council (Head of State) Nguyễn Hữu Thọ 6 June 1969 2 July 1976 People's Revolutionary Party and Democratic Party of Vietnam
Chairman of Government (Prime Minister and de facto leader) Huỳnh Tấn Phát 8 June 1969 2 July 1976 People's Revolutionary Party and Democratic Party of Vietnam
Vice-chairman Phung Van Cung 8 June 1969 1976 Democratic Party of Vietnam
Vice-chairman Nguyễn Văn Kiệt 8 June 1969 1976
Vice-chairman Nguyen Doa 8 June 1969 1976
Minister of Presidential Palace of Government Tran Buu Kiem 8 June 1969 1976 People's Revolutionary Party and Democratic Party of Vietnam
Minister of Defense Trần Nam Trung 8 June 1969 1976 People's Revolutionary Party
Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyễn Thị Bình 8 June 1969 1976 People's Revolutionary Party
Minister of the Interior Phung Van Cung 8 June 1969 1976
Minister of Justice Trương Như Tảng 8 June 1969 1976
Minister of Economy and Finance Cao Van Bon
Duong Ky Hiep (acting from 1975)		 8 June 1969 died 1971
Minister of Information and Culture Lưu Hữu Phước 8 June 1969 1976
Minister of Education and Youth Nguyễn Văn Kiệt 8 June 1969 1976
Minister of Health, Social Action and Disabled Soldiers Dương Quỳnh Hoa 8 June 1969 1976 People's Revolutionary Party

Foreign relations

Within a year of its establishment in 1969, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam was recognized by 25 countries and established diplomatic relations with them.[17] By July 1976, before the formal reunification of North and South Vietnam, the Republic of South Vietnam had been recognized by 80 countries and established diplomatic relations with 71 of them .[18][19]

Country Date of Recognition Date of diplomatic relations Notes
 Cuba 11 June 1969 11 June 1969
 Algeria 11 June 1969 11 June 1969
 North Korea 11 June 1969 11 June 1969
 Poland 12 June 1969 12 June 1969
 Syria 12 June 1969 12 June 1969
 Bulgaria 13 June 1969 13 June 1969
 Hungary 13 June 1969 13 June 1969
 China 14 June 1969 14 June 1969
 Cambodia 14 June 1969 14 June 1969
 Albania 16 June 1969 16 June 1969
 East Germany 29 June 1969 20 June 1969
 Romania 24 June 1969 24 June 1969
 Czechoslovakia June 27, 1969 June 27, 1969
 Soviet Union June 29, 1969 June 29, 1969
 Mongolia 2 July 1969 2 July 1969
 South Yemen July 8, 1969 July 8, 1969
 Congo August 7, 1969 August 22, 1969
 Iraq November 7, 1969 November 25, 1969
 Mauritania November 9, 1969 November 29, 1969
 Sudan November 15, 1969 December 8, 1969
 Tanzania December 24, 1969 July 8, 1970
 United Arab Republic April 11, 1970 April 23, 1970 This date marks the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of South Vietnam and the United Arab Republic.
 Sri Lanka July 14, 1970 June 24, 1975 This date marks the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of South Vietnam and Ceylon.
 Yugoslavia April 29, 1971 May 22, 1971
 Somalia October 10, 1971 February 14, 1972
 Mali February 21, 1972 February 25, 1972
 Chile September 8, 1972 September 8, 1972 Following the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, the Republic of South Vietnam severed diplomatic relations with Chile on 14 September 1973
 Equatorial Guinea September 30, 1972 January 17, 1975
 Guyana December 22, 1972 April 19, 1975
 Uganda February 7, 1973 February 9, 1973
 Dahomey March 14, 1973 March 14, 1973 This date marks the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of South Vietnam and Dahomey.
 Burundi March 22, 1973 April 16, 1973
 Senegal July 3, 1973 July 3, 1973
 Guinea July 24, 1973 July 25, 1973
 Malta September 2, 1973 September 8, 1973
 Zambia September 2, 1973 September 8, 1973
 Guinea-Bissau September 28, 1973 May 20, 1974
 Bangladesh October 5, 1973 October 24, 1973
 Madagascar June 10, 1974 June 10, 1974
 Mauritius June 14, 1974
 North Yemen September 13, 1974 November 13, 1974
 Gabon January 1, 1975 January 9, 1975
 Afghanistan March 5, 1975 March 8, 1975
 Libya March 15, 1975 March 15, 1975
 Zaire April 5, 1975 April 5, 1975
 Laos April 30, 1975 August 12, 1975
 Cyprus May 1, 1975
 Sweden May 2, 1975 July 13, 1975
 Finland May 2, 1975 July 4, 1975
 Thailand May 2, 1975
 India May 2, 1975 May 30, 1975
 Denmark May 2, 1975 May 2, 1975
 Pakistan May 3, 1975 July 1, 1975
 Jamaica May 11, 1975
 Netherlands May 15, 1975 June 20, 1975
 Niger May 14, 1975
 Australia May 15, 1975 August 8, 1975
 Japan May 16, 1975
 Mexico May 22, 1975 May 26, 1975
 Burma May 25, 1975 May 30, 1975
 Malaysia May 26, 1975 July 4, 1975
 Nigeria May 1975
   Nepal May 26, 1975
 New Zealand May 26, 1975 November 5, 1975
 France May 26, 1975 May 26, 1975
 United Kingdom May 31, 1975 June 23, 1975
 Italy May 31, 1975 July 9, 1975
 Canada May 31, 1975 June 25, 1975
 Mozambique June 25, 1975 June 25, 1975
 Belgium June 27, 1975 July 9, 1975
 Jordan June 22, 1975
 Maldives June 20, 1975 June 24, 1975
  Switzerland June 20, 1975 June 26, 1975
 Norway May 2, 1975 May 2, 1975
 Luxembourg July 3, 1975 July 10, 1975
 Austria July 7, 1975 July 10, 1975
 Iceland August 8, 1975 August 15, 1975
 Panama August 28, 1975 August 28, 1975
 Ivory Coast October 6, 1975 October 6, 1975
 Kuwait 22 January 1976 24 January 1976

Culture

Music

The national anthem of the Government was Liberate the South (Vietnamese: Giải phóng miền Nam). The song was written in 1961 by Lưu Hữu Phước (1921–1989) and adopted at that time as the anthem of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (Viet Cong).

In 1966, Lưu Hữu Phước wrote a military song March on Saigon [vi] (Tiến về Sài Gòn) as an encouragement the soldiers going to attack Saigon in the Tet Offensive. The song was spread again during the fall of Saigon.

Photos

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ "giấy công tác đặc biệt" [Special Working Paper]. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2020. độc lập – dân chủ – hòa bình – trung lập
  2. ^ "Mintoff shows off his 'non-aligned manhood' and threatens to break relations with Israel". archive.maltatoday.com.mt. 18 April 2010. Archived from the original on 20 December 2024. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  3. ^ Florian Grotz; Dieter Nohlen; Christof Hartmann, eds. (2001). Elections in Asia and the Pacific : A Data Handbook | Volume II: South East Asia, East Asia, and the South Pacific. OUP Oxford. pp. 333, 334, 337. ISBN 978-0-19-924959-6.
  4. ^ Porter 1993, pp. 27–29
  5. ^ a b Tảng 1985, p. 131
  6. ^ Tảng 1985, p. 132
  7. ^ a b c Tảng 1985, p. 147
  8. ^ a b Tảng 1985, p. 146
  9. ^ Tảng 1985, pp. 146–147
  10. ^ Tảng 1985, p. 186
  11. ^ Tảng 1985, p. 188
  12. ^ Tảng 1985, pp. 188–189
  13. ^ Milutin Tomanović, ed. (1972). Hronika međunarodnih događaja 1971 [The Chronicle of International Events in 1971] (in Serbo-Croatian). Belgrade: Institute of International Politics and Economics. p. 2664.
  14. ^ "United Nations Official Document". United Nations. Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  15. ^ "[53] Điểm qua các lần xin gia nhập Liên hợp quốc của Việt Nam". 23 December 2017.
  16. ^ "South Vietnam revolutionary administration (1954-1976)". vietnamlawmagazine.vn. 25 February 2011. The Republic of South Vietnam State was organized in a centralized manner from the central to grassroots levels according to the principle of democratic centralism suitable to wartime situation.
  17. ^ 阮文广大使举行盛大招待会 热烈庆祝越南南方共和临时革命政府成立一周年.《人民日报》1970年6月7日：“（阮文广说）截至目前为止，她已获得二十五个国家的承认并建立了外交关系，同时以不同的形式或程度与其他四十多个国家建立了关系。越南南方共和临时革命政府的国际威望日益空前的提高。”
  18. ^ 越南南方解放以来 三十个国家决定同越南南方共和建交.《人民日报》1975年6月8日
  19. ^ 越南社会科学院史学院编 (April 1991). 越南大事记 （1945年-1986年） (in Simplified Chinese). Translated by 韩裕家，黄理云，李岳洪等译. 北京: 军事译文出版社. p. 244.

Sources

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