The Central Intelligence Office (vi: ''Phủ Đặc ủy Trung ương Tình báo'') was the national

strategic intelligence Strategic intelligence (STRATINT) pertains to the collection, processing, analysis, and dissemination of intelligence that is required for forming policy and military plans at the national and international level. Much of the information needed fo ...

agency for the government of the

Republic of Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the French Union, with it ...

(South Vietnam), headquarters in

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

. It was created in 1961, via Executive Decree No. 109/TTP, signed into law on May 5, 1961, by President

Ngô Đình Diệm Ngô Đình Diệm ( , or ; ; 3 January 1901 – 2 November 1963) was a South Vietnamese politician who was the final prime minister of the State of Vietnam (1954–1955) and later the first president of South Vietnam ( Republic of ...

. The agency was responsible for investigating, gathering and analyzing

strategic Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "troop leadership; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the "art o ...

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis List of intelligence gathering disciplines, approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist Commanding officer, commanders in decision making pr ...

information on communist

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...

, and its branch in South Vietnam, the

Viet Cong The Viet Cong (VC) was an epithet and umbrella term to refer to the communist-driven armed movement and united front organization in South Vietnam. It was formally organized as and led by the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, and ...

, and report and advise the South Vietnamese government on

national security National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of ...

Organization

The Intelligence Office included three divisions: * Domestic Intelligence Bureau ''(Cục Tình báo Quốc nội).'' This division has a department for surveillance of domestic communist/enemy activities (Department K); a

counterespionage Counterintelligence (counter-intelligence) or counterespionage (counter-espionage) is any activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting ac ...

department (Dept. U); and a political department e.g. on subversive political activities like coup d'etats and on the North Vietnamese government (Dept. Z). * Foreign Intelligence Bureau ''(Cục Tình báo Quốc ngoại)'' * National Inquiry Centre ''(Trung tâm Thẩm vấn Quốc gia).'' This division was only responsible for receiving and sending prisoners, e.g. POWs, suspected communists etc., for interrogation Each military corps zone (I - IV) has one Special Contact Mission under the Domestic Intelligence Bureau. Overseas, there are Foreign Intelligence Bureau departments in France, the United Kingdom, Japan, Thailand and Cambodia.

Fall of Saigon The fall of Saigon, known in Vietnam as Reunification Day (), was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by North Vietnam on 30 April 1975. As part of the 1975 spring offensive, this decisive event led to the collapse of the So ...

According to journalist Huy Đức's 2013 book, ''Bên Thắng cuộc ''(The Winning Side)'', ''on April 24, 1975, Nguyễn Khắc Bình (Director of the CIO) secretly fled. Acting President

Trần Văn Hương Trần Văn Hương (; 1 December 1902 – 27 January 1982) was a South Vietnamese politician who was the penultimate president of South Vietnam for a week in April 1975 before its surrender to the communist forces of North Vietnam. Before asc ...

then appointed Nguyễn Phát Lộc, an assistant of Binh, as the new Director. On the afternoon of April 28, 1975, the U.S. Embassy in Saigon asked all CIO staff to evacuate to 3 Bạch Đằng St. and await for evacuation out of Vietnam; they fled to 2 Nguyễn Hậu St. afterwards. However, on April 30, 1975, at 01:00, electronic communication between the Embassy and CIO staff were cut, leaving them stranded there.

Chronological List of CIO Directors

* Lieutenant Colonel Lê Liêm * Colonel Nguyễn Văn Y * Lieutenant General Mai Hữu Xuân * Brigadier General

Nguyễn Ngọc Loan Nguyễn Ngọc Loan (; 11 December 193014 July 1998) was a South Vietnamese general and chief of the South Vietnamese National Police. Loan gained international attention when he summarily executed a handcuffed prisoner of war named Nguyễn ...

* Lieutenant General

Linh Quang Viên Linh Quang Viên (November 11, 1918 – January 17, 2013) was a Vietnamese soldier who rose to the rank of Lieutenant General in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Vien was born in Cao Bang, northern Vietnam. He attended Albert Sarraut High Sch ...

* Colonel Nguyễn Khắc Bình * Nguyễn Phát Lộc * Captain Nguyễn Phúc Sanh - Foreign Intelligence - Cục Tình báo Quốc ngoại

References

{{authority control Vietnam War South Vietnamese intelligence agencies

Organization

Fall of Saigon The fall of Saigon, known in Vietnam as Reunification Day (), was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by North Vietnam on 30 April 1975. As part of the 1975 spring offensive, this decisive event led to the collapse of the So ...

Chronological List of CIO Directors

See also

References