oct 17, 1955 - President Diem is elected
Description:
Diem defeated Bao Dai in a government-controlled referendum in October 1955, ousted the emperor, and made himself president of South Vietnam. Diem refused to carry out the 1954 Geneva Accords, which had called for free elections to be held throughout Vietnam in 1956 in order to establish a national government. With the south torn by dissident groups and political factions, Diem established an autocratic regime that was staffed at the highest levels by members of his own family. (Brittanica)Added to timeline:
Date:
oct 17, 1955
Now
~ 69 years ago