Ngo Dinh Diem (January 3, 1901 - November 2, 1963) was the first President of South Vietnam (1955-1963). His rule proved authoritarian, elitist, nepotistic, and corrupt. A Catholic, Diem pursued policies that oppressed the Republic's Montagnard natives and its Buddhist majority. Amid religious protests that garnered worldwide attention, Diem lost the backing of his US patrons and was assassinated on November 2, 1963, during a coup d'etat that deposed his government.