Provisional Royal Lao Government | |
---|---|
Anthem: Pheng Xat Lao [a] | |
Status | Government in exile |
Capital | Vientiane (de jure) Gresham, Oregon (de facto) |
Government | |
• King | Soulivong Savang |
• Prime Minister-in-exile | Unknown |
Establishment | |
• Proclamation | 6 May 2003 |
|
The Royal Lao Government in Exile (RLGE) is a Laotian government in exile opposed to the Lao People's Democratic Republic established on May 6, 2003, and seeks to reinstall a constitutional monarchy in Laos. The RLGE also seeks to end what it sees as the Vietnamization of Laos and the Lao-Viet special Brotherhood Treaty. [1] It was most recently headed by then Prime-minister Khamphoui Sisavatdy and King Soulivong Savang.
The Royal Lao Government in Exile claims that it is an interim democratic government consisting of eighty representatives from Lao political organizations and associations elected by the Lao people inside Laos and abroad. The Royal Lao Government in Exile is chaired by Professor Khamphoui Sisavatdy, [2] who claims to have previously served in the former Royal Lao Government under King Savang Vatthana of Laos as a Deputy in the National Assembly and was a Professor of Lao History at Sisavangvong University. In 1972, he traveled to the United States with a Lao delegation to speak to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger concerning a series of proposed Geneva Convention treaties.
The Supreme National Political Council in Exile is reportedly chaired by Phraya Sithidej (Sithat Sithibourn), former Lao Governor, former Lao Congressman and former President of Political and Law Commission of the Lao National Parliament.
The Royal Laos Defence Forces under RLGE claim to be led by General Saveng Vongsavath, former Colonel of the Royal Lao Army and the military Commander of the Lao People's National Liberation Front (LPNLF). [3] [4]
Allegedly, the only royal family member of Laos that held a position within RLGE is Brigadier-General Prince (Sadu Chao Jaya) Muni Varman Kindama Varman [Monivong Kindavong]. He was the Vice-President of the Supreme National Political Council in Exile until his death in 2004. Prince Monivong Kindavong was born in 1928, received education in École des Officiers d’Applications (EOA), in 1973 he was promoted as a Brigadier-General of the Royal Lao Army. Prince Monivong Kindavong's father is Prince (Sadu Chao Jaya) Kindama Varman [Kindavong], who was a Delegate for Upper Laos and representative of The King to the Provisional Government of France in 1946. Prince Kindavong served as a Prime Minister from April 23, 1946, until March 15, 1947 and as a Minister of State from 1947 to 1948. Prince Kindavong is the son of Prince Chao Maha Oupahat Bounkhong, the last Vice-King of Luang Prabang and a nephew of King Sisavang Vong. Prince Kindavong is also a younger half-brother of Prince Phetsarath Ratanavongsa, who was prime minister of Laos from 1942 to 1945, and the first and last Vice-King of the Kingdom of Laos and a brother of Prince Souvanna Phouma, a Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Laos several times from 1951–1954, 1956–1958, 1960 and 1962–1975.[ citation needed ]
The Royal Lao Government in Exile (RLGE) reportedly was proclaimed on May 6, 2003, according to itself. On June 16, 2003, by permission of the Secretary of the State of Oregon Royal Lao Government in Exile was incorporated under the Oregon Nonprofit Corporation Act. On June 23, 2003, the RLGE signed an agreement with Free Vietnamese Government in Santa Ana, California, to join hands between the two governments with a mutual goal of fighting against Laos and Vietnam. On June 25, 2003, the RLGE was granted audience with the United Nations Secretarial Office in New York City followed by audience with the U.S. States Department in Washington, D.C., on June 26, 2003.
On July 5, 2003, the RLGE reportedly claims that a reformation Ministerial Conference was held in city of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, US for an official announcement of its policies and national agendas. The second reformation was passed in on 23 March 2004, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US for official announcement of restoration and revival of Lao National Army in the same form as it was until 1975. The third reformation was passed in on September 2, 2004 in the city of San Diego, California, US. The fourth reformation was passed in on 25 March 2005 in the city of Sacramento, California, US. In this meeting members of RLGE voted Khamphoui Sisavatdy to continue his term as the Prime Minister of the Royal Lao Government in Exile. The fifth reformation was passed in October 2005 in the city of Fresno, California. In this meeting RLGE decided to accept to let Hmong ethnic people into RLGE. The sixth reformation was passed in on September 25, 2010, in the city of New Iberia in the state of Louisiana. In this meeting members of RLGE voted Khamphoui Sisavatdy to continue his term as the Prime Minister of the Royal Lao Government in Exile until Lao Democracy is restored. In this meeting RLGE issued a public statement no. PMO/060/2010 based on the U.S Congress resolutions 240, 169, 309, 318, 204 and on the European Parliamentary Resolution on Laos on February 15, 2002, and to observe the Geneva Accords of 1954 and 1962 on Laos under the real condition of the current time in Laos and also solving Lao problems peacefully and politically, we the patriotic Nationalist people of Laos would like to proclaim to the International Communities and to the Lao people inside Laos and abroad that the Royal Lao Government has been restored and revived to take full responsibility on the affairs on Laos under the leadership of the people in charge of government in exile temporarily. [5]
# | Prime Minister | Picture | Took office | Left office | Notes |
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1 | Khamphoui Sisavatdy | 6 May 2003 | October 18, 2023 | March 25, 2005, in the city of Sacramento, California, US members of RLGE voted Khamphoui Sisavatdy to continue his term as the Prime Minister of the Royal Lao Government in Exile. September 25, 2010, in the city of New Iberia, Louisiana, US members of RLGE voted for Khamphoui Sisavatdy to continue his term as the Prime Minister of the Royal Lao Government in Exile until Lao Democracy is restored. He later died on October 18, 2023, from Unknown reasons due to inefficient information (Potentially from old age)[ citation needed ]. | |
2 | Unknown | Unknown | After the death of Khamphoui Sisavatdy there is no information about who is the current Prime Minister of the Royal Government in Exile. |
General:
The Kingdom of Laos was the form of government in Laos from 1947 to 1975. Located in Southeast Asia at the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula, it was bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, North Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and southwest. The country was governed as a constitutional monarchy beginning with its independence on 22 October 1953. It survived until December 1975, when its last king, Sisavang Vatthana, surrendered the throne to the Pathet Lao during the civil war in Laos, who abolished the monarchy in favour of a Marxist–Leninist state called the Lao People's Democratic Republic, which has controlled Laos ever since.
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.
Prince Sauryavong Savang was the youngest son of King Savang Vatthana of Laos. In 1965, he married Princess Dalavan and they had four children, Sthira Sauryavong, Dayavant Sauryavong, Balavant Sauryavong, and Krishnajina Sauryavong.
Khamphoui was the Queen of Laos by marriage to Sisavang Vatthana, the second King of Laos. She was arrested with the rest of her family and reportedly died in a re-education camp in 1982.
The Vang Tao Incident occurred on 3 July 2000, when a group of armed insurgents and mercenaries attacked a Lao customs outpost at the southern border town of Vang Tao. The raiders, as they came to be described, were easily routed leaving six of their own dead and 27 were arrested by Thai authorities. Of those, 11 were Thai nationals.
Soulivong Savang, grandson of the last King of Laos Savang Vatthana, is the pretender to the Lao throne. Laos was a monarchy until 1975, when the communist Pathet Lao seized control of the nation, causing Savang Vatthana to abdicate his throne. Soulivong Savang lives in exile in Paris.
Prince Mangkra Souvanna Phouma of the Kingdom of Laos is the son of Prince Souvanna Phouma.
Vong Savang was the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Laos. After the Laotian Civil War in 1975, he and his family were arrested by the Pathet Lao and sent to re-education camps, where they died.
Thanyavong Savang is a surviving member of the now deposed royal family of the Kingdom of Laos. He was born at the Royal Palace, Luang Prabang, Laos. His father is Crown Prince Vong Savang and his mother is Princess Mahneelai.
The Royal Palace in Luang Prabang, Laos, was built in 1904 during the French colonial era for King Sisavang Vong and his family. The site for the palace was chosen so that official visitors to Luang Prabang could disembark from their river voyages directly below the palace and be received there. After Sisavang's death, the crown prince Savang Vatthana and his family were the last to occupy the grounds. In 1975, the monarchy was overthrown by the communists, and the royal family were taken to re-education camps. The palace was then converted into a national museum.
The French protectorate of Laos was a French protectorate in Southeast Asia of what is today Laos between 1893 and 1953—with a brief interregnum as a Japanese puppet state in 1945—which constituted part of French Indochina. It was established over the Siamese vassal, the Kingdom of Luang Phrabang, following the Franco-Siamese crisis of 1893. It was integrated into French Indochina and in the following years further Siamese vassals, the Principality of Phuan and Kingdom of Champasak, were annexed into it in 1899 and 1904, respectively.
Kerry Arthur Danes and wife Kay Frances Danes née Stewart were imprisoned in Laos as civilians on 23 December 2000 and later convicted of embezzlement, tax evasion and destruction of evidence. They were ordered to pay fines and compensation of $AUD1.1 million.
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 Lan Xang Hom Khao dynasty or Lao royal family was the ruling family of the Kingdom of Laos from 1904 to 1975 and the group of close relatives of the monarch of the Kingdom of Laos. King Sisavang Vong was the founder of the modern family, consisting of a number of persons in the Lao royal dynasty of the Khun Lo, who are related to the king of Laos, who are entitled to royal titles, and some of whom performed various official engagements on behalf of the royal family and ceremonial duties of state when the kingdom existed. The Lao royal family are now based in France, where they work to achieve a change of government in Laos.
The Lao Issara was an anti-French, nationalist movement formed on 12 October 1945 by Prince Phetsarath. This short-lived movement emerged after the Japanese defeat in World War II and became the government of Laos before the return of the French. It aimed to prevent the French from restoring their control over Laos. The group disbanded in 1949.
The Order of Civic Merit of the Kingdom of Laos was established on November 20, 1950 under Royal Ordinance No. 186 by H.M. Sisavang Phoulivong, The King of Laos. It is an Order of Civic Merit for civil officials and military officers. It was awarded for meritorious and courageous service to the State in three classes. Until 1975 the approval authority was the Prime Minister of the Royal Lao Government. The current approval authority is H.E. Professor Maha Khamphoui Sisavatdy, Prime Minister of the Royal Lao Government in Exile as an elected successor to the Office of the Prime Minister of the Royal Lao Government.
The following lists events that happened during 1963 in Laos.
Khamphoui Sisavatdy was the Sithandone Province House of Representative in the 7th Term Legislature of the Royal Lao Government. Prime Minister of the Royal Lao Government in Exile, serving in the position since the exiled government's formation in 2003. Khamphoui was re-elected Prime Minister in 2005 and 2010.