1954 Geneva Conference left Geneva on May 3 and was replaced by his deputy Walter Bedell Smith. The State of Vietnam refused to attend the negotiations until Bidault wrote to Bảo Đại, assuring him that any agreement would not partition Vietnam. Bidault opened the conference on May 8 by proposing a cessation of hostilities, a ceasefire in place, a release of prisoners, and a disarming of irregulars, despite the French surrender at Điện Biên Phủ the previous day in northwestern Vietnam. On May 10, Phạm Văn Đồng, the leader of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) delegation set out their position, proposing a
Divided government in the United States effect, in which the success of a presidential candidate also leads to electoral success for other members of his or her party. In fact, all newly elected presidents except Zachary Taylor, Richard Nixon, and George H. W. Bush were accompanied by control of at least one house of Congress. Divided government in the United States In the United States,divided government describes a situation in which one party controls the executive branch while another party controls one or both houses of the legislative branch. Divided government is seen by different groups as a benefit or as an undesirable product of the