The Three Princes was a name given to Princes Boun Oum, Souvanna Phouma and Souphanouvong who represented respectively the royalist, neutralist and communist factions in the Kingdom of Laos in the post-WWII period, especially during Laotian Civil War. [1] The trio were named by King Sisavang Vatthana to form a coalition government following the independence of Laos. [1]
The Three Princes represented three different political factions during the Laotian Civil War (1959–75), which was fought between the communist Pathet Lao (including many North Vietnamese of Lao ancestry) and the Royal Lao Government. Both sides received heavy external support in what became one of many proxy wars of the Cold War. It is known as the Secret War among the CIA Special Activities Division and Hmong veterans of the conflict. [2]
Prince Boun Oum (also Prince Boun Oum Na Champassak ) was the son of King Ratsadanay, and hereditary prince of Champassak, who served as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Laos from 1948–1950 and again in 1960–1962.[ citation needed ] The right-wing Prince, cousin to the other two princes, overthrew the Phouma Government in 1960 which was supported by Lao leaders Phoui Sananikone and General Phoumi Nosavan, and the Hmong leader General Vang Pao. [3]
Prince Souvanna Phouma was the leader of the neutralist faction and Prime Minister of Laos several times (1951–1954, 1956–1958, 1960, and 1962–1975). The Prince was supported by Kong Le and the Royal Lao Government.
Prince Souphanouvong, unlike his half-brothers, was born to a commoner without royal lineage, Mom Kham Ouane. He was the figurehead president of Laos from December 1975 to August 1991. A staunch communist and the leader of the Pathet Lao, he was supported by Kaysone Phomvihane (later Prime Minister and President of the LPDR) and the North Vietnamese. By 1972, the Pathet Lao found it unacceptable to form a coalition with rightist members, mostly military generals and the rich and powerful Na Champassak and Sananikone families. [4]
Kaysone Phomvihane 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. His theories and policies are officially known as Kaysone Phomvihane Thought.
Prince Souphanouvong, nicknamed the Red Prince, 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 President of Laos from December 1975 to October 1986.
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.
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.
Captain Kong Le was a Laotian paratrooper in the Royal Lao Army. He led the premier unit of the Royal Lao Army, 2ème bataillon de parachutistes, which campaigned relentlessly during 1959 and 1960. The idealistic young American-trained Lao Theung officer became known worldwide when on 10 August 1960 he and his mutinous paratroopers overthrew the Royal Lao Government in a coup d'état. He declared he aimed at an end to government corruption; to the shock of American officials, he declared U.S. policies were responsible for the ongoing fraud.
Major General Kouprasith Abhay was a prominent military leader of the Kingdom of Laos during the Laotian Civil War. Scion of a socially prominent family, his military career was considerably aided by their influence. In early 1960, he was appointed to command of Military Region 5, which included Laos' capital city, Vientiane. Removed from that command on 14 December for duplicitous participation in the Battle of Vientiane, he was reappointed in October 1962. He would hold the post until 1 July 1971, thus controlling the troops in and around the capital. Over the years, he would be involved in one way or another in the coups of 1960, 1964, 1965, 1966, and 1973. His service was marked by a deadly feud with another Laotian general, Thao Ma; the feud was largely responsible for the latter two coup attempts against the government.
The Laotian Civil War was waged between the Communist Pathet Lao and the Royal Lao Government from 23 May 1959 to 2 December 1975. The Kingdom of Laos was a covert theater during the Vietnam War with both sides receiving heavy external support in a proxy war between the global Cold War superpowers. The fighting also involved the North Vietnamese, South Vietnamese, American and Thai armies, both directly and through irregular proxies. The war is known as the Secret War among the American CIA Special Activities Center, and Hmong and Mien veterans of the conflict.
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.
Quinim Pholsena was a leftist politician and the Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Laos from 1962 to 1963, under Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma.
Colonel Bounleuth Saycocie was a Lao military and political figure of the Second Indochina War.
The 1960 Laotian coups brought about a pivotal change of government in the Kingdom of Laos. General Phoumi Nosavan established himself as the strongman running Laos in a bloodless coup on 25 December 1959. He would be himself overthrown on 10 August 1960 by the young paratrooper captain who had backed him in the 1959 coup. When Captain Kong Le impressed the American officials underwriting Laos as a potential communist, they backed Phoumi's return to power in November and December 1960. In turn, the Soviets backed Kong Le as their proxy in this Cold War standoff. After the Battle of Vientiane ended in his defeat, Kong Le withdrew northward to the strategic Plain of Jars on 16 December 1960.
Forces Armées Neutralistes was an armed political movement of the Laotian Civil War.
The following lists events that happened during 1950 in Laos.
The following lists events that happened during 1975 in Laos.
The following lists events that happened during 1984 in Laos.
The 1964 Laotian coups were two attempted coup d'etats against the Royal Lao Government. The 18 April 1964 coup was notable for being committed by the policemen of the Directorate of National Coordination. Although successful, it was overturned five days later by U.S. Ambassador Leonard Unger. In its wake, Neutralist Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma forged a fragile coalition with the Pathet Lao communists. On 4 August 1964, Defense Minister Phoumi Nosavan attempted to take over Vientiane with a training battalion. This coup was quickly crushed by the local Royal Lao Army troops, as the police sat out the conflict.
Kou Voravong was a Laotian politician. He was part of the anti-Japanese resistance leading group during the Second World War and 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.