Duong Van Minh - Second Presidency

Second Presidency

In late-April 1975, President Thiệu fled to Taiwan and handed over power to Vice President Trần Văn Hương on 21 April. Hương prepared for peace talks with North Vietnam. However, after his overtures were rejected, he resigned. As the main attack on Saigon developed on 27 April 1975, in a joint sitting of the bicameral National Assembly, the presidency was unanimously handed over to Minh, who was sworn in the following day. The French government thought that Minh could broker a cease-fire and had advocated his ascension to power. There was also an assumption that, as Minh had a reputation for indecision, the various groups thought that they could manipulate him for their own ends relatively easily. It was widely assumed that Minh, who had long-standing contacts with the communists, would be able to establish a cease-fire and re-open negotiations. This expectation was totally unrealistic, as the North Vietnamese were in an overwhelmingly dominant position on the battlefield and final victory was within reach, so they saw no need for power-sharing, regardless of any political changes in Saigon.

On 28 April 1975, North Vietnamese forces fought their way into the outskirts of the capital. Later that afternoon, as President Minh finished his acceptance speech, in which he called for an immediate cease-fire and peace talks, a formation of five A-37s, captured from the South Vietnamese Air Force, bombed Tân Sơn Nhứt. As Biên Hòa fell, General Nguyễn Văn Toàn, the III Corps commander, fled to Saigon, saying that most of the top ARVN leadership had virtually resigned themselves to defeat. The inauguration of Minh had served as a signal to South Vietnamese officers who would not compromise with the communists. They began to pack up and leave, or commit suicide to avoid capture.

PAVN columns advanced into the city center encountering very little resistance. Except in the Mekong Delta, where South Vietnamese military forces were still intact and aggressive, the South Vietnamese military had virtually ceased to exist. Just after 05:00 on 30 April, U.S. Ambassador Martin boarded a helicopter and departed. At 10:24, President Minh went on radio and ordered all South Vietnamese forces to cease fighting and later declared an unconditional surrender. He announced, “The Republic of Vietnam policy is the policy of peace and reconciliation, aimed at saving the blood of our people. We are here waiting for the Provisional Revolutionary Government to hand over the authority in order to stop useless bloodshed.” Upon receiving the order to surrender, Generals Nguyễn Khoa Nam and Lê Văn Hưng, the commander and deputy commander of IV Corps, which was still vigorously fighting in Cần Thơ in the Mekong Delta region area not yet overrun, committed suicide, having decided to fight to the death. They gathered their staff and family to say farewell before shooting themselves; the populace purportedly did not want to them to fight to the death, believing it would cause futile bloodshed.

Around noon, a North Vietnamese tank crashed through the gates of the Independence Palace. When the communist troops entered the Independence Palace in Saigon, they found Minh and his cabinet sitting around the big oval table in the cabinet room waiting for them. As they entered, Minh said “The revolution is here. You are here.” He added, “We have been waiting for you so that we could turn over the government.” The ranking North Vietnamese officer, Colonel Bùi Tín replied, “There is no question of your transferring power. Your power has crumbled. You cannot give up what you do not have.” Later in the afternoon, he went on radio again and said, “I declare the Saigon government is completely dissolved at all levels.”

After his official surrender, he was summoned to report back. After a few days he was permitted to return to his villa, unlike almost all remaining military personnel and public servants, who were sent to reeducation camps, often for over a decade in the case of senior officers. He lived there in seclusion for eight years, where he continued to raise birds and grow exotic orchids. It was assumed that Hanoi had resolved that as Minh had not actively opposed them in the final years of the war, he would be allowed to live in peace as long as he remained quiet and did not engage in political activities.