ABSTRACT
The Geneva conference that ended the First Indochina War (1946-1954) divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel. It created two zones to which the rival military forces could withdraw to regroup. The partition was to be temporary, for two years, at the end of which elections were to be held to reunify the country. The implementation of the Geneva agreements, including the elections, was to be supervised by an International Control Commission under Indian chairmanship, with pro-West Canada and Communist Poland as members. The success of the commission's work depended on the cooperation of the governments of North and South Vietnam. Great Britain and the Soviet Union acted as cochairs of the Geneva conference to whom the International Control Commission reported periodically. The political instability worsened, with several generals playing musical chairs for power. It was eighteen months before the steady team of Nguyen Van Thieu as president and Nguyen Cao Ky as vice president established some semblance of stability.
