The Provisional Central Government of Vietnam was an entity proclaimed in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

during the

First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...

. It was created as a transitional government replacing the protectorates of

Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled ''Tongkin'', ''Tonquin'' or ''Tongking'', is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, includ ...

(Northern Vietnam) and Annam (Central Vietnam), until

Cochinchina Cochinchina or Cochin-China (, ; vi, Đàng Trong (17th century - 18th century, Việt Nam (1802-1831), Đại Nam (1831-1862), Nam Kỳ (1862-1945); km, កូសាំងស៊ីន, Kosăngsin; french: Cochinchine; ) is a historical exony ...

(Southern Vietnam) could be reunited with the rest of the country.

History

On June 5, 1948, the Halong Bay Agreements (''Accords de la baie d’Along'') allowed the creation of a unified Vietnamese government replacing the

(Northern Vietnam), Annam (Central Vietnam) associated to France within the

French Union The French Union () was a political entity created by the French Fourth Republic to replace the old French colonial empire system, colloquially known as the " French Empire" (). It was the formal end of the "indigenous" () status of French subj ...

and the Indochinese Federation then including the neighboring Kingdom of Laos and

Kingdom of Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

. However, while the participants had agreed on the reunification of

(Southern Vietnam) with Tonkin and Annam, it had a different status from the other two territories and retained a separate administration. Former Emperor

Bảo Đại Bảo Đại (, vi-hantu, , lit. "keeper of greatness", 22 October 191331 July 1997), born Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy (), was the 13th and final emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last ruling dynasty of Vietnam. From 1926 to 1945, he was em ...

, whom the French wanted to bring back to power as a political alternative to

Ho Chi Minh (: ; born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), commonly known as (' Uncle Hồ'), also known as ('President Hồ'), (' Old father of the people') and by other aliases, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman. He served as P ...

, insisted that all Vietnam should be reunited before he took office as "chief of State". General

Nguyễn Văn Xuân Nguyễn Văn Xuân (3 April 1892 – 14 January 1989) was president of the government of Cochinchina from 1947 to 1948, then prime minister of the Provisional Central Government of Vietnam from 23 May 1948 to 20 June 1949, during the First Ind ...

, until then head of the Cochinchinese government, signed the agreements on Bảo Đại's behalf and became head of the newly formed Provisional Central Government; he was replaced by

Trần Văn Hữu Trần Văn Hữu (1895 – 17 January 1985) served as president of the government of Cochinchina from 1948 to 1949, then as Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam from 1950 to 1952. Early life He was born in 1895, in Long My village, Chau Tha ...

as president of the Cochinchinese administration. Although Vietnam was not yet reunited, and far from being autonomous, the French had agreed for the first time to include the word "independence" in the agreements.Philippe Franchini, ''Les Guerres d'Indochine'', vol. I, Pygmalion - Gérard Watelet, Paris, 1988, pp. 399-406 During the only year of its existence, the Provisional Central Government had very limited means, and was denounced by the communist

Viet Minh The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Fro ...

as a

puppet state A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government, is a state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside power and subject to its orders.Compare: Puppet states have nominal sove ...

.Jacques Dalloz, ''La Guerre d'Indochine 1945–1954'', Seuil, Paris, 1987, pp. 123-126 The Xuân government was able to create several administrative units in Northern and Central Vietnam, but it was entirely dependent on the French as it initially had no army, no police forces and – being, unlike the government of Cochinchina, unable to collect taxes – no financial resources. As the

Indochina war The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...

raged on, the Provisional Central Government was regarded as near-impotent. Also, the French administration was still in place in Tonkin and Annam and was often reluctant to relinquish power to the new Vietnamese administration. Moreover, the reunification of Vietnam was still hampered by the status of

: the French colonists – who remained influential in the Cochinchinese consultative council – insisted, with the support of Southern Vietnamese autonomist politicians, that Cochinchina (then known as the ''Provisional Government of Southern Vietnam'') was still legally a

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state' ...

, since its status as an "autonomous Republic", proclaimed in 1946, had never been ratified by the French National Assembly, and that any process of reunification had therefore to be approved by the French Parliament. Xuân tried to reunite Cochinchina with his government through a

by-law A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), or as it is most commonly known in the United States bylaws, is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authorit ...

, but it was overruled by the colony's council.

's administration therefore remained in existence and Vietnam found itself with two governments, each backed by the French, one claiming sovereignty over the whole country, and one administrating the Southern region. Gradually, the Vietnamese provisional government was given the means to establish armed forces. On 1 January 1949, the

Vietnamese National Army The Vietnamese National Army or Vietnam National Army ( vi, Quân đội Quốc gia Việt Nam, lit=Army of the State of Vietnam, french: Armée Nationale Vietnamienne, lit=Vietnamese National Army) was the State of Vietnam's military force create ...

was officially created under French supervision. It initially numbered 25,000 troops, including 10,000 irregulars. The Vietnamese situation remained deadlocked for over a year, as

refused to return to Vietnam and take office as head of state until the country was fully reunited. Finally, the French National Assembly voted a law set to create a Cochinchinese territorial assembly which would replace the former council. The new assembly was elected on 10 April 1949, and the Vietnamese became a majority. On 23 April, the Cochinchinese assembly approved the merger with the Provisional Government, and its decision was in turn approved by the French National Assembly on May 20. On June 4, Cochinchina and the "associated State of Vietnam" were formally merged, and the State of Vietnam could then be officially proclaimed on July 2.

Cabinet

* (Ex-)Emperor:

Công-Báo Việt-Nam - 1948-06- 04. Page: 3. * President:

* Vice President:

* Minister of Justice: Nguyễn Khắc Vệ * Minister of Rites and Education: Nguyễn Khoa Toàn * Minister of Economy and Finance: Nguyễn Trung Vinh * Minister of Information, Press, and Propaganda: Phan Huy Đán * Minister of Agriculture: Trần Thiện Vàng * Minister of Health: Đặng Hữu Chí * Minister of Public Works and Planning: Nguyễn Văn Tỷ * Minister of Defense: Trần Quang Vinh * Minister of the Vice President's Office: Đinh Xuân Quảng * Secretary of State for Northern Vietnam: Nghiêm Xuân Thiện * Secretary of State for Central Vietnam: Phan Văn Giáo * Secretary of State for Southern Vietnam: Lê Văn Hoạch

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vietnam, Provisional Central Government of States and territories established in 1948 Former polities of the Indochina Wars States and territories disestablished in 1949 Provisional Central Government of Vietnam Provisional Central Government of Vietnam Provisional Central Government of Vietnam 1948 establishments in Asia 1949 disestablishments in Asia

History

Cabinet

See also

Notes

References