Who headed the anti-communist government in South Vietnam?

• A. Ho Chi Minh
• B. Nguyen Cao Ky
• C. Ngo Dinh Diem
• D. Le Duan

Answer: (C)

Ngo Dinh Diem headed the anti-communist government in the South because he led the Republic of Vietnam established in 1955 to govern the southern half of Vietnam after the Geneva Accords, with strong anti-communist aims and U.S. backing. Ho Chi Minh was the leader of the North Vietnamese communist government, not the South. Nguyen Cao Ky came to prominence later as a South Vietnamese leader, but he did not head the government at its outset. Le Duan was a key figure in North Vietnam, not the South. So Diem was the head of the anti-communist South Vietnamese government during the crucial early period.