Global InformationState visit by Ngo Dinh Diem to the United States information
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Nguyễn dynasty mandarin
Prime Minister of the
State of Vietnam (1954–1955)
President of South Vietnam (1955–1963)
Policies and theories
Major events
Elections
Vietnam War
Diplomatic activities
Buddhist crisis
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Ngô Đình Diệm, the President of South Vietnam, made a state visit to the United States, the main ally of his government, in 1957. Diệm received a glowing welcome and was heaped with praise as a leader of a "free country" in the midst of the Cold War. The receptions during the visit were in large part organized by the American Friends of Vietnam (AFV), a lobby group dedicated to resolute US support of South Vietnam and which included many politicians from both major parties.[1] The visit was mainly celebratory and ceremonial, rather than being a policy or planning mission. It was part of a year of travelling for Diệm, as he made a visit to Australia in September, as well as to fellow anti-communist countries South Korea and Thailand.
Prior to the visit, the US government and the AFV made thorough preparations to make Diệm's visit pleasant, and the AFV successfully lobbied the media to write favourable reports on the South Vietnamese leader. Diệm was trumpeted as a champion of democracy, and mentions of his autocratic style and election rigging were avoided. Diệm arrived by plane in Washington, D.C., on May 8, and was personally greeted at the airport by President Dwight D. Eisenhower—an honor Eisenhower accorded to only one other visiting head of state. Diệm's motorcade was greeted by 50,000 wellwishers and his address to the US Congress and his policies were heartily endorsed by both sides of politics. During his time in the US capital, Diệm also attended receptions, and had private meetings with both Eisenhower and the US Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, to discuss American support for South Vietnam, although the meeting with Dulles was ineffectual as Diệm spoke continuously, rendering two-way discussions impossible.
Diệm then visited New York City, where he was given a ticker tape parade through Manhattan, which was attended by 250,000. He was presented with several honors by the city council and given a civic reception, before attending several functions with business leaders, marketing his country as a favorable location for foreign investment. The South Vietnamese president also made stops at the city's main Roman Catholic institution, St Patrick's Cathedral—a Catholic, Diệm had been helped to power by the lobbying of Cardinal Francis Spellman and American Catholic politicians. He also returned to Maryknoll Seminary in Ossining, New York, where he had stayed while in exile, and to the Catholic Seton Hall University to receive an honorary doctorate. Diệm later received an honorary degree from Michigan State University, where he had stayed in exile earlier in the decade and the day was dedicated in his honor. The South Vietnamese president then traveled westwards across to the Pacific coast before returning to Vietnam.
The visit was the high point of relations between Diệm and Washington, as in later years, the US government and members of the AFV became increasingly disillusioned with Diệm's failure to liberalize his government and enact changes to make South Vietnam more democratic. The once-supportive media began to report on South Vietnam without overlooking problems in Diệm's administration. In 1963, American support for Diệm collapsed during the Buddhist crisis as Washington concluded that Diệm was incapable of offering a solid alternative to the communists, and he was overthrown in a US-backed military coup and executed after being captured.
- ^ Jacobs (2006), pp. 100–104.