Vietnamese Leadership Styles

The leadership styles Ho Chi Minh and Ngo Dinh Diem were vastly different. Ho Chi Minh was brought up by his father, a poor scholar to be a committed nationalist, one willing to fight for the independence of Vietnam. As early as age nine he had developed a deep opposition to colonialism. In 1917 after traveling and settling in Paris, Ho began reading books by Karl Marx and other left wing writers, eventually he converted to communism where he became one of the founding members of the French Communist Party. Ho served as Communist leader for North Vietnam 1945-1969. In contrast Ngo Dinh Diem grew up with a privileged lifestyle, and as member of a prominent Roman Catholic family he started out as a civil servant, who had previously refused any government office until he became prime minister in 1955.

The leadership styles Ho Chi Minh and Ngo Dinh Diem were vastly different. Ho Chi Minh was brought up by his father, a poor scholar to be a committed nationalist, one willing to fight for the independence of Vietnam. As early as age nine he had developed a deep opposition to colonialism. In 1917 after traveling and settling in Paris, Ho began reading books by Karl Marx and other left wing writers, eventually he converted to communism where he became one of the founding members of the French Communist Party. Ho served as Communist leader for North Vietnam 1945-1969. In contrast Ngo Dinh Diem grew up with a privileged lifestyle, and as member of a prominent Roman Catholic family he started out as a civil servant, who had previously refused any government office until he became prime minister in 1955.