Kaysone Phomvihane

He became an active revolutionary while studying in Hanoi during the 1940s, establishing the Lao People's Liberation Army (LPLA) on 20 January 1949 and becoming the Minister of Defense of the Resistance Government (Neo Lao Issara) from 1950. In 1955, he was instrumental in setting up the LPRP at Xam Neua in the north, and subsequently served as the Pathet Lao leader. For several years, he mostly stayed in the background, with 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 seized control of the country. At a National Conference of People's Representatives that opened on December 1, Kaysone declared the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of 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, while he was named prime minister, which he held until becoming president in 1991. Along the way, he married Thongvin 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 journalists, the border is "very close" to the 1945 French-made border between Laos and Annam.

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 was "the top policy maker and a strongman in the LPDR". He created

Kaysone died in Vientiane on 21 November 1992. After his death, the government of Laos built a museum in his honor, partially funded by Vietnam.^[4]

In 2012, his cremated ashes were transferred from their original resting place to the newly built National Cemetery.^[5]

Family

Kaysone had four sons:

Foreign honours

•  Thailand: Knight of the Order of the Rajamitrabhorn
•  Cuba: Grand Cross of the Order of José Martí
•  
  Gold Star Order
•  Philippines: Grand Collar of the Order of Sikatuna
•  Indonesia: Star of the Republic of Indonesia, 1st Class
•  Austria: Grand Star of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria
•  Soviet Union:
  • Order of Lenin
  • Order of Friendship of Peoples

See also

• Kaysone Phomvihane Museum

References