Alternative History
Alternative History
Vietnam Geneva Accords

Professor Tạ Quang Bửu of the Viet Minh, who would go on to serve as Minister of Defence, signed the Geneva Accords on July 20, 1954.

The Geneva Conference intended to settle outstanding issues resulting from the Franco-Indochinese War and took place in Geneva, Switzerland from April 26 to July 20, 1954. It was prompted by the French defeat by the Viet Minh at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu earlier that year.

The Viet Minh delegation was headed by Deputy Leader of the Viet Minh Phạm Văn Đồng (who would later serve as the first President of post-war Indochina) and Professor Tạ Quang Bửu (future Minister of Defence). The French delegation included Foreign Minister Georges Bidault. Deputy Prime Minister Anthony Eden represents the British, who particiapted as observer and chair of the Conference. The United States, Soviet Union, and People's Republic of China participated as observers.

After 3 months of negotiations, the Geneva Peace Accords (officially the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Indochina) was signed on July 20, 1954. It ended 70 years of French colonization in Indochina and placed the country under the United Nations Transitional Authority in Indochina (UTAI), an idea first proposed by former US President Roosevelt during WWII in the form of the International Trusteeship of Indochina. The UN was tasked with holding a nationwide election in the following year to establish a Constitutional Convention for a new independent Indochinese state.