People's Revolutionary Party (Vietnam)

The People's Revolutionary Party of Vietnam (PRP; Vietnamese: Đảng Nhân dân Cách mạng Việt Nam) was a political party in South Vietnam established in 1962, being the counter-part of the Workers' Party of Vietnam in the Southern half of the Vietnamese territory to provide formal political leadership for the National Liberation Front countering the French-associated State of Vietnam and subsequently the US-backed Republic of Vietnam regimes. In 1976, following the communists' victory and the overthrowing of the South Vietnamese regime, the party was merged with the Workers' Party of Vietnam in North Vietnam to form the modern Communist Party of Vietnam.

People's Revolutionary Party
Đảng Nhân dân Cách mạng Việt Nam
Governing bodyCentral Office for South Vietnam
ChairmanVo Chi Cong
General SecretaryNguyen Van Linh
Founded1962 (1962)
Dissolved1975 (1975)
Merged intoCommunist Party of Vietnam
IdeologyScientific socialism
Marxism-Leninism
Vietnamese nationalism
Vietnamese reunification
Anti-imperialism
National affiliationNational Liberation Front

The PRP was founded on January 1, 1962. Its foundation was publicly announced by Radio Hanoi on January 18, 1962.[1][2] The stated goals of the party was to combat imperialism, feudalism and colonialism. PRP was not an explicitly communist party, but according to the January 18 Radio Hanoi broadcast, it represented the Marxist–Leninists in South Vietnam. PRP was led by a Central Committee, often referred to as the Central Office for South Vietnam (COSVN). The smallest organizational unit of PRP was the cell. 1-7 cells constituted a chi bo, the street or hamlet level organization of the party. PRP was the leading force in the National Liberation Front. Both at national and local levels PRP committees led the NLF work. In the Central Committee there were three main responsibilities, Military Commissar (coordinating the relations with the People's Army of Vietnam), NLF control and general administration.[2][1] Võ Chí Công was party chairman.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b Honey, P. J.. North Vietnam's Workers' Party and South Vietnam's People's Revolutionary Party, published in Pacific Affairs, Vol. 35, No. 4, (Winter, 1962–1963), pp. 375-383
  2. ^ a b Blood, Jake. The Tet Effect: Intelligence and the Public Perception of War. Routledge, 2005. p. 87-88
  3. ^ Photo Display of Viet Cong Leaders