State of Vietnam

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, initially as an associated state in the French Union and later as a fully independent state (from June 1954). The state claimed authority over all of Vietnam during the First Indochina War and administered urban areas with large populations, while much of the remote territory was controlled by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

The State of Vietnam was formed in 1949 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 foothold in the northern half of the country. 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.