Mr Thieu, aged 22, a fisherman's son, joined Ho's forces in fighting the French.

ECONOMIST: Nguyen Van Thieu

In 1975, South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu resigned after 10 years in office.

CNN: Sunday,

Mr Thieu trusted few people, a wise policy: it turned out that even his intelligence agency was run by communists.

ECONOMIST: Nguyen Van Thieu

The Americans had a high regard for Mr Thieu as a soldier, and averted their eyes from his dictatorial ways.

ECONOMIST: Nguyen Van Thieu

But set against all this was Mr Thieu's disadvantage as an ally.

ECONOMIST: Nguyen Van Thieu

In 1965, when the first American troops went into action in support of the South, Mr Thieu was the head of the military government.

ECONOMIST: Nguyen Van Thieu

Mr Thieu's view of American competence was less complimentary.

ECONOMIST: Nguyen Van Thieu

According to Mr Thieu, the numerous American commanders and other officials sent to Vietnam cared nothing for its culture, did not feel a need to learn the language, foolishly trusted the North to honour agreements and were themselves victims of changeable policies by their masters at home.

ECONOMIST: Nguyen Van Thieu