Democratic Republic of Vietnam

Democratic Republic of Vietnam
Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa 越南民主共華
1945–1976
Flag Emblem
Motto "Độc lập – Tự do – Hạnh phúc" (English: "Independence – Freedom – Happiness")
Anthem "Tiến Quân Ca" (English: "Army March")
Location of North Vietnam in Southeast Asia.
Capital		Hanoi
Languages		Vietnamese (official)
Religion		None (state atheism)
Government		Unitary Marxist–Leninist one-party state
Party Chairman First Secretary
•	1945–1956	Trường Chinh
•	1956–1960	Hồ Chí Minh
•	1960–1976	Lê Duẩn
President
•	1945–1969	Hồ Chí Minh
•	1969–1976	Tôn Đức Thắng
Prime Minister
•	1945–1955	Hồ Chí Minh
•	1955–1976	Phạm Văn Đồng
Historical era		Cold War · Vietnam War
•	Republic declared	September 2, 1945
•	Viet Minh reenters Hanoi	October 10, 1954
•	PAVN enters Saigon	April 30, 1975
•	North and South Vietnam merged	July 2, 1976
Area
•	1960	157,880 km² (60,958 sq mi)
Population
•	1960 est.	15,916,955
Density		100.8 /km²  (261.1 /sq mi)
•	1974 est.	23,767,300
Density		150.5 /km²  (389.9 /sq mi)
Currency		đồng
Preceded by Succeeded by French Indochina Empire of Vietnam Nguyễn Dynasty Vietnam
Today part of		Vietnam

North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV), was a state in Southeast Asia which existed from 1945 to 1976. Vietnamese revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh declared independence from France on 2 September 1945 and announced the creation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. France reasserted its colonial dominance and a war ensued between France and the Viet Minh, led by Ho. The Viet Minh ("League for the Independence of Vietnam") was a coalition of nationalist groups, mostly led by communists. In February 1951, the communists announced the creation of the Lao Động Party (Labor Party), gradually marginalizing non-communists in the Viet Minh.

Between 1946 and 1954, the Viet Minh captured and controlled most of the rural areas of Vietnam. In 1954, after the French were defeated, the negotiation of the Geneva Accords ended the war between France and the Viet Minh and granted Vietnam independence. The Geneva Accords divided the country provisionally into northern and southern zones, and stipulated general elections in July 1956 "to bring about the unification of Viet-Nam." The northern zone was commonly called North Vietnam and the southern zone South Vietnam, or, formally, the Republic of Vietnam.

Supervision of the implementation of the Geneva Accords was the responsibility of an International Commission consisting of India, Canada, and Poland. The United States did not sign the Geneva Accords but instead stated that the U.S. "shall continue to seek to achieve unity through free elections supervised by the United Nations to insure that they are conducted fairly." In July 1955, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem, announced that the Republic of Vietnam would not participate in elections to unify the country. He said that South Vietnam had not signed the Geneva accords and was not bound by it.

With the failure to reunify Vietnam by elections, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam attempted to unify the country by force in the Vietnam War (1955–75). North Vietnam and the Viet Cong insurgents supported by their communist allies, including the Soviet Union and China, fought against the military of South Vietnam, the U.S. and other anti-communist military forces, including South Korea, Australia, Thailand and smaller players. North Vietnam also supported indigenous communist rebels in Cambodia and Laos against their respective U.S,-backed governments. The war ended when Democratic Republic of Vietnam forces and the Viet Cong defeated the Republic of Vietnam and in 1976 united the two parts of the country into the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.