State of Vietnam
State of Viet-Nam | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949–1955 | |||||||||||
| Motto: Dân vi quý "The people are the most important" | |||||||||||
| Anthem: Thanh niên Hành Khúc "The March of Youths" | |||||||||||
| Grand Seal of the State 保大國長 (1949–1954) | |||||||||||
The territory controlled by the State of Vietnam after the 1954 Geneva Conference (dark green); territory claimed but not controlled (light green). | |||||||||||
| Status | Associated state of the French Union (until 1954) Independent state (from 1954) | ||||||||||
| Capital | Saigon–Cholon 10°48′N 106°39′E / 10.800°N 106.650°E | ||||||||||
| Official languages | Vietnamese, French | ||||||||||
| Religion | Folk religions Buddhism Confucianism Catholicism Caodaism Hoahaoism Evangelicalism | ||||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Vietnamese, Vietnamian | ||||||||||
| Government | Unitary semi-monarchy | ||||||||||
| Chief of State | |||||||||||
• 1949–1955 | Bảo Đại | ||||||||||
• 1955 | Ngô Đình Diệm | ||||||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||||||
• 1949–1950 | Bảo Đại | ||||||||||
• 1950 | Nguyễn Phan Long | ||||||||||
• 1950–1952 | Trần Văn Hữu | ||||||||||
• 1952–1953 | Nguyễn Văn Tâm | ||||||||||
• 1954 | Bửu Lộc | ||||||||||
• 1954–1955 | Ngô Đình Diệm | ||||||||||
| Historical era | Cold War | ||||||||||
| 8 March 1949 | |||||||||||
• Proclamation | 2 July 1949 | ||||||||||
• Matignon Treaty | 4 June 1954 | ||||||||||
| 21 July 1954 | |||||||||||
| 26 October 1955 | |||||||||||
| Currency | piastre đồng (from 1953) | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Today part of | Vietnam | ||||||||||
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The State of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Quốc gia Việt Nam; chữ Hán: 國家越南; French: État du Viêt-Nam) was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1949 until 1955, first as an associated state of the French Union and later as an independent state (from 20 July 1954 to 26 October 1955). The state claimed authority over all of Vietnam during the First Indochina War, although large parts of its territory were controlled by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
Established in 1949, the State of Vietnam was formed within the framework of the French Union as a compromise between Vietnamese nationalists and the French, in opposition to the communists. It gained international recognition in 1950 and aligned politically with the Western Bloc. Former emperor Bảo Đại became Chief of State. Following the 1954 Geneva Accords between the communist Viet Minh and the French, the State of Vietnam lost its remaining foothold in the northern half of the country, where most rural areas were already controlled by the Viet Minh. Ngô Đình Diệm was appointed prime minister the same year and—after having ousted Bảo Đại in 1955—became president of the Republic of Vietnam.