Kaysone Phomvihane | |
---|---|
ໄກສອນ ພົມວິຫານ | |
![]() | |
1st Chairman of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party [a] | |
In office 22 March 1955 –21 November 1992 | |
Succeeded by | Khamtai Siphandon |
2nd President of Laos | |
In office 15 August 1991 –21 November 1992 | |
Prime Minister | Khamtai Siphandon |
Preceded by | Phoumi Vongvichit (Acting) |
Succeeded by | Nouhak Phoumsavanh |
11th Prime Minister of Laos | |
In office 8 December 1975 –15 August 1991 | |
President | Souphanouvong Phoumi Vongvichit (Acting) |
Preceded by | Souvanna Phouma |
Succeeded by | Khamtai Siphandon |
Personal details | |
Born | Nguyễn Cai Song 13 December 1920 Savannakhet, French Indochina |
Died | 21 November 1992 71) Vientiane, Laos | (aged
Political party | Lao People's Revolutionary Party |
Spouse(s) | Thongvin Phomvihane |
a. ^ General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Party until February 1972; General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party until March 1991 |
Kaysone Phomvihane (Lao : ໄກສອນ ພົມວິຫານ; 13 December 1920 – 21 November 1992) was the first leader of the Communist Lao People's Revolutionary Party from 1955 until his death in 1992. After the Communists seized power in the wake of the Laotian Civil War, he was the de facto leader of Laos from 1975 until his death. He served as the first Prime Minister of the Lao People's Democratic Republic from 1975 to 1991 and then as the second President from 1991 to 1992.
Kaysone was born Nguyễn Cai Song [1] (although he also used the name Nguyễn Trí Mưu for a short period in the 1930s) in Na Seng village, Khanthabouli district, French Indochina (now Kaysone Phomvihane District, Savannakhet Province, Laos). His father, Nguyễn Trí Loan, was Vietnamese and his mother, Nang Dok, was Lao. He had two sisters: Nang Souvanthong, living in Thailand, and Nang Kongmany, who lived in the USA. [2]
Kaysone attended law school at University of Indochina in Hanoi, with Nouhak Phoumsavan. He dropped out of law school to fight the French colonialists who were in Vietnam. Later, he joined the Pathet Lao movement, which was also fighting the French colonialists.
He became an active revolutionary while studying in the Indochinese capital of Hanoi (now the capital of Vietnam) during the 1940s. The Lao People's Liberation Army (LPLA) was established by Kaysone Phomvihane on January 20, 1949. He was minister of defence of Resistance Government (of the Neo Lao Issara) from 1950. In 1955 he was instrumental in setting up the LPRP at Sam Neua in northern Laos, and subsequently served as the Pathet Lao leader. For several years, he mostly stayed in the background, with "Red Prince" Souphanouvong serving as the Pathet Lao's figurehead. In the years which followed, he led communist forces against the Kingdom of Laos and U.S. forces.
Kaysone came out of the shadows in December 1975, shortly after the Pathet Lao took Vientiane and effectively seized control of the country. At a "National Conference of People's Representatives" that opened on December 1, Kaysone read a "political report" on abolishing the monarchy and declaring Laos a republic. The following day, on a motion by presiding officer Kaysone, the National Conference accepted King Sisavang Vatthana's abdication, abolished the monarchy, and proclaimed the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Kaysone nominated Souphanouvong as first president, and Kaysone was named prime minister. He held that post until becoming president in 1991, a post he held until his death in 1992. He married Thongvinh Phomvihane.
Under Kaysone's watch, the process of demarcating the border between Laos and Vietnam started in 1977 and finished in 2007. According to western journalist the Lao/Viet borderline is "very close" to the 1945 border between Laos and Tonkin and Annam, respectively.
According to Vatthana Pholsena, assistant professor of Southeast Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore and author of the book "Post-war Laos", Kaysone Phomvihane was the top policy maker in LPDR, and a strongman. He created Sekong Province to honour the southern minority for their support in the war effort.
Kaysone died in Laos's capital, Vientiane. After Kaysone's death, the government of Laos built a museum in Kaysone's honour in Vientiane, partially funded by Vietnam. [3]
In 2012, his cremated ashes were transferred from their original resting place to the newly built National Cemetery. [4]
His younger son, Sanyahak Phomvihane, was elected to the LPRP Central Committee at the 8th LPRP Congress and became a Major General at the age of 40 in 2008. However, he suffered an early death, at the age of 45, on 19 July 2013. [5] His elder son, Xaysomphone Phomvihane (born 10 October 1954) currently serves as President of the Lao Front for National Construction. His other son, Santiphap Phomvihane, currently serves as Governor of Savannakhet Province.
Việt Minh was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on May 19, 1941. The Việt Nam Độc Lập Đồng Minh Hội had previously formed in Nanjing, China, at some point between August 1935 and early 1936 when Vietnamese nationalist parties formed an anti-imperialist united front. This organization soon lapsed into inactivity, only to be revived by the Indochinese Communist Party (ICP) and Hồ Chí Minh in 1941. The Việt Minh established itself as the only organized anti-French and anti-Japanese resistance group. The Việt Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire. The United States supported France. When the Japanese occupation began, the Việt Minh opposed Japan with support from the United States and the Republic of China. After World War II, the Việt Minh opposed the re-occupation of Vietnam by France, resulting in the Indochina War, and later opposed South Vietnam and the United States in the Vietnam War. The political leader and founder of Việt Minh was Hồ Chí Minh. The military leadership was under the command of Võ Nguyên Giáp. Other founders were Lê Duẩn and Phạm Văn Đồng.
Prince Souphanouvong was, along with his half-brother Prince Souvanna Phouma and Prince Boun Oum of Champasak, one of the "Three Princes" who represented respectively the communist (pro-Vietnam), neutralist and royalist political factions in Laos. He was the figurehead President of Laos from December 1975 to August 1991.
The Lao People's Revolutionary Party is the founding and governing political party of the modern-day Laotian state. The party's monopoly on state power is guaranteed by Article 3 of the Laotian constitution, and it maintains a unitary state with centralised control over the economy and military.
The Kingdom of Laos was a constitutional monarchy that served Laos beginning with its independence on 9 November 1953. The monarchy survived until December 1975, when its last king, Savang Vatthana, surrendered the throne to the Pathet Lao, who abolished the monarchy in favor of a Marxist–Leninist state called the Lao People's Democratic Republic, which has controlled Laos ever since.
Prince Souvanna Phouma was the leader of the neutralist faction and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Laos several times.
Sisavang Vatthana or sometimes Savang Vatthana was the last king of the Kingdom of Laos and the 6th Prime Minister of Laos serving from 29 October to 21 November 1951. He ruled from 1959 after his father's death until his forced abdication in 1975. His rule ended with the takeover by the Pathet Lao in 1975, after which he and his family were sent to a re-education camp by the new government.
The Pathet Lao, officially the Lao People's Liberation Army, was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group was ultimately successful in assuming political power in 1975, after the Laotian Civil War. The Pathet Lao were always closely associated with Vietnamese communists. During the civil war, it was effectively organized, equipped and even led by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). They fought against the anti-communist forces in the Vietnam War. Eventually, the term became the generic name for Laotian communists.
The Three Princes was a name given to Princes Boun Oum, Souvanna Phouma and Souphanouvong who represented respectively the royalist, neutralist and leftist factions in the Kingdom of Laos in the post-WWII period. The trio were named by King Sisavang Vatthana to form a coalition government following the independence of Laos.
Phoumi Vongvichit was a leading figure of the Pathet Lao and an elder statesman of the Lao People's Democratic Republic.
The Laotian Civil War (1959–1975) was a civil war in Laos which was waged between the Communist Pathet Lao and the Royal Lao Government from 23 May 1959 to 2 December 1975. It is associated with the Cambodian Civil War and the Vietnam War, with both sides receiving heavy external support in a proxy war between the global Cold War superpowers. It is called the Secret War among the CIA Special Activities Center and Hmong veterans of the conflict.
General Khamtai Siphandone is a Laotian politician who was President of Laos from 24 February 1998, until 8 June 2006, when he was replaced by Choummaly Sayasone. He was a member of the Communist Party of Indochina in 1954 and a member of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party in 1956. He was the leader of the Communist Lao People's Revolutionary Party from 24 November 1992, until 21 March 2006.
Nouhak Phoumsavanh or Phoumsavan was a longtime Pathet Lao revolutionary and communist party official who was the 3rd President of Laos from 1992 to 1998.
The kip is the currency of Laos since 1955. Historically, one kip was divided into 100 att (ອັດ).
Savannakhet (ສະຫວັນນະເຂດ), officially named Kaysone Phomvihane since 2005 and previously known as Khanthaboury (ຄັນທະບູລີ), is a city in western Laos. It is the capital of Savannakhet Province. With a population of 125,760 (2018), it is the second-largest city in Laos, after Vientiane. Although the old French colonial quarter of the town, along the Mekong River-front, is depressed and crumbling, the town's proximity to Thailand's booming economy has brought about new commercial development in the northern part of the town, near both the river crossing and the bus terminal.
The Royal Lao Government was the ruling authority in the Kingdom of Laos from 1947 until the communist seizure of power in December 1975 and the proclamation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. The Franco-Lao Treaty of 1953 gave Laos full independence but the following years were marked by a rivalry between the neutralists under Prince Souvanna Phouma, the right wing under Prince Boun Oum of Champassak, and the left-wing, Lao Patriotic Front under Prince Souphanouvong and future Prime Minister Kaysone Phomvihane. During this period, a number of unsuccessful attempts were made to establish coalition governments.
The Leaders of the Vietnam War listed below comprise the important political and military figures of the Vietnam War.
Houaphanh Province is a province in eastern Laos. Its capital is Xam Neua.
Kou Voravong was a Laotian politician. He was part of the anti-Japanese resistance leading group during the Second World War and after then anti-Lao Issara (ລາວອິດສລະ) in the post-war period. Throughout his career, from 1941 to 1954, he has been District Chief, Province Governor, member of the Lao National Assembly, and Royal Lao Government Minister.
France–Laos relations are the bilateral relations between the French Republic and Lao People's Democratic Republic. France has an embassy in Vientiane, and Laos has an embassy in Paris.
Political offices | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Souvanna Phouma | Prime Minister of Laos 1975–1991 | Succeeded by Khamtai Siphandon |
Preceded by Phoumi Vongvichit (as Acting President) | President of Laos 1991–1992 | Succeeded by Nouhak Phoumsavanh |
Party political offices | ||
Preceded by None | General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party 1955–1991 | Succeeded by Himself (as Chairman) |
Preceded by Himself (as General Secretary) | Chairman of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party 1991–1992 | Succeeded by Khamtai Siphandon |