Bảo Đại was chief of state of the State of Vietnam until 1955.
Bảo Đại, the last emperor of Vietnam’s Nguyễn dynasty, became chief of state of the French-backed State of Vietnam in 1949. The position was created as France sought an anti-communist Vietnamese alternative to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam led by Hồ Chí Minh. Bảo Đại remained the state’s nominal leader while France retained substantial influence over military and foreign affairs.
Although he had abdicated as emperor in 1945 after Japan’s surrender, Bảo Đại returned to political prominence during the First Indochina War. He spent much of his time outside Vietnam and was widely criticized by opponents as a figurehead or French client. After the 1954 Geneva Accords divided Vietnam temporarily, he remained head of state in the South and appointed Ngô Đình Diệm as prime minister.
In 1955, Diệm organized a referendum that abolished the monarchy and established the Republic of Vietnam. Bảo Đại was removed from power, making the date a useful dividing line between imperial Vietnam and the later South Vietnamese republic.