This essay has been written by Name of Student of Class of Student of Name of College on Date of Submission of Assignment
Introduction. First Indo-China war ended in 1954 through the Geneva Accord and same day marked the start of two independent territories of Vietnam called the North and South Vietnam. Both North and South Vietnam were divided by a line at 17th parallel. The communist Vietnam called the North Vietnam was declared as Democratic Republic of Vietnam having Hanoi as its capital whereas the Anti-communist South Vietnam was called the Republic of Vietnam with its capital at Saigon. Ho Chi Minh was the leader of North Vietnam and Ngo Dihn Diem was in control of South Vietnam. Both the leader had different ideologies but had one common goal of freeing the Vietnam. Both the leaders had unique leadership qualities and led Vietnam to the freedom and later towards progress. This paper is aimed at evaluating the leadership of both leaders in the context of Vietnamese society and identify reasons that helped both the leaders to mobilize the public support for their initiatives.
Ho Chi Minh
The leader of North Vietnam Ho Chi Minh was an enigmatic leader and possessed excessive influence and passionate control on the audience. Through his personal charisma and assertiveness, he inspired the Vietnamese to follow him through the hard times for the better future of Vietnam. He used his charismatic personality domestically and internationally to earn a reputation of a great leader. His efforts to liberate his country and bring democracy to the nation were well acknowledged by his people and they followed him blindly and well executed the initiatives started by him. He projected his image as a passionate and simple man. He took wise decisions and gave a touch of wisdom to everything he did. Being a staunch follower of democracy, he advocated that will of the people should prevail and be given preference in deciding the future of the nation. One of the quotes from his speech ”If people in an independent country do not enjoy happiness and freedom then independence has no meaning”, clearly indicate the strength of his belief in democracy (Turner, 1972).
Facts about the early life of Ho Chi Minh remain hidden even after his death. There are no details available about his date of birth, his childhood and the family. Non availability of these details leave speculations about his brought up and his buildup of viewpoint about the world. His father was a die-hard nationalist and educated his son on the same lines. Ho Chi Minh was not a good student and left the college “Lycee Huoc-Hoc” before graduation due to his anti-colonial views. He went to Europe in 1991 and learned about the cultures of different countries. He also went to US and Asia and during the travel, he formulated the philosophy for the independence of his motherland.
Ngo Dinh Diem
South Vietnamese leader Ngo Dinh Diem was a contrast personality to Hi Chi Minh of North Vietnam. He was son of a well-educated and well off civil servant and served as Minister of Rites and Grand Chamberlain to Emperor Thanh-Thai. His family converted to Catholicism in early times and shifted to the South Vietnam. His father was also a die-hard nationalist and resigned his post as a protest to French rule in Indo-China. He went to same school as Ho Chi Minh and was a good student and a good orator. He believed that only he could bring peace and stability to his war torn country. He believed that a strong leader was the requirement of time for Vietnamese for making tough decisions. His strategy worked well in the early years of Republic of Vietnam (Shidler, 2008).
Ngo Dinh Diem refused to side the Japanese when they occupied Indo-China and supported the Vietnamese emperor Bao Dai who was banking on
France to get back his waning powers. Many Vietnamese did not trust Ngo Dinh Diem due to his support to the emperor and called him a collaborator. He later abandoned the king and himself came up as the new leader of the Vietnam. He created a nationalist extremist movement. He consolidated his power after winning the elections of 1955 and made efforts to make South Vietnam a worthwhile anti-communist state. He established an unchallenged control in his country and prepared his country for an attack from North Vietnam. He ruled the country till November 1963 when he was killed by young army officers.
Conclusion. Both the leaders brought their countries on the path of prosperity in their own way. Both had different ideologies but aimed at making Vietnamese people prosperous and happy. Both had the power to mobilize the public opinion and charisma to be followed. They put in their best to bring their countries out of the war and make them stable and safe place to live. Both the parts of Vietnam were well led by the two college fellows in their own style of governance. They both are remember by Vietnamese as the great leaders who worked for the future of the Vietnamese nation.
References
Shidler Derek. (2008). Vietnam’s Changing Historiography: Ngo Dinh Diem and America’s Leadership. Retrieved May 15, 2014, http://castle.eiu.edu/historia/archives/2009/Historia2009Shidler.pdf
Turner Robert F. (1972). Southeast Asian Perspective: Myths of the Vietnam War. The Pentagon Papers Reconsidered. Retrieved May 16, 2014, http://www.virginia.edu/cnsl/pdf/Turner-Myths.pdf
