Sisavang Vatthana

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Sisavang Vatthana
Prime Ministers		See list Phoui Sananikone Sounthone Pathammavong Kou Abhay Somsanith Vongkotrattana Souvanna Phouma Quinim Pholsena (Disputed) Boun Oum
Born	(1907-11-13)13 November 1907 Theravada Buddhism
Prime Minister of Laos
In office 15 October 1951 – 21 November 1951
Monarch	Sisavang Vong
Preceded by	Phoui Sananikone
Succeeded by	Souvanna Phouma
Signature

Sisavang Vatthana (Lao: ພຣະບາທສົມເດັຈພຣະເຈົ້າມະຫາຊີວິຕສີສວ່າງວັດທະນາ) or sometimes Savang Vatthana (full title: Samdach Brhat Chao Mavattaha Sri Vitha Lan Xang Hom Khao Phra Rajanachakra Lao Phengdara Parama Sidha Khattiya Suriya Varman Brhat Maha Sri Savangsa Vadhana; 13 November 1907 – 13 May 1978) 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.^{[citation needed]}

Early life

Prince Savang Vatthana was born on 13 November 1907 at the

On 7 August 1930, he married Queen Khamphoui and they had five children, Crown Prince Vong Savang, Prince Sisavang Savang, Prince Sauryavong Savang, Princess Savivanh Savang, and Princess Thala Savang. The family played tennis together, and liked to attend major tournaments on their travels abroad. The prince was also a devout Buddhist and became an authority on the Sangha, and would later take his role as protector of the state religion seriously.

During

King of Laos

In 1951, Savang served as Prime Minister, and when his father became ill on 20 August 1959, he was named Regent. On 29 October 1959, he informally acceded upon the death of his father. He was, however, never officially crowned king, deferring his coronation until the cessation of civil war.

The king was active in politics as he was trying to stabilize Laos after the political turmoil started with the

In 1961, a majority of the National Assembly had already voted Boun Oum into power and the king left Luang Prabang, visiting the capital to give the new government his blessing. In 1962, the king formed a coalition government which soon collapsed.

In March 1963, accompanied by his Prime Minister, Souvanna Phouma, the king toured 13 countries signatory to the Geneva Conference that guaranteed the "neutrality" of the Kingdom of Laos on "diplomatic missions", starting with the USSR, where he received gifts of GAZ-13 "Chaika" limousines, before meeting US President John F. Kennedy in Washington, D.C.

In 1964, a series of coups and countercoups resulted in the final alignment of the Pathet Lao on one side and the neutralist and right-wing factions on the other. From this point, the Pathet Lao refused to join any offers of coalition or national elections and the Laotian Civil War began.

Abdication and death

On 23 August 1975,

In 1978, the government reported that Vatthana, Queen Khamphoui, and Crown Prince Vong Savang had died from malaria. The World Press Review reported that they had suffered from the effects of forced labor and starvation.^[5] More recent accounts suggest that the King died in mid-March 1980.^{[citation needed]} However, according to Kaysone Phomvihane, Vatthana died in 1984, at the age of 77.^[6] Following the deaths of Vatthana and the Crown Prince, the King's youngest son, Sauryavong Savang, became the head of the Laotian royal family, acting as regent for his nephew Crown Prince, Soulivong Savang, until the regent died in Paris in 2018.

Issue

The children of Savang Vatthana and Khumphoui as follows:

Awards

Domestic

• Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the Million Elephants and the White Parasol
• Gilt (Gold) Medal of the Order of the Reign
• Knight^[7] of the Order of the Crown
• Knight of the Order of Merit in Education
• Knight of the Order of Agricultural Merit
• Knight of the Order of Civil Merit
• Medal for Military Valor with Bronze Palm and 3 stars^[8]

Foreign

•  Cambodia: Knight's Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Cambodia
•  Denmark: Honorary Knight of the Order of the Elephant (1968)
•  France: Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour
•  
  Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum
  (1961)
•  Malaysia: Honorary Knights of the Order of the Crown of the Realm
•  Peru: Grand Cross with Diamonds of the Order of the Sun of Peru
•  Republic of Vietnam: Grand Cross of the National Order of Vietnam
•  Thailand:
  • Knight of the
    Order of Rajamitrabhorn (1962)^[9]
  • Knight of the Order of the Royal House of Chakri (1958)
  • Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Chula Chom Klao (1955)^[10]

See also

• King Sisavang Vong
• Monarchs of Laos
• Pathet Lao
• Kingdom of Laos
• Soth Phetrasy
• Laotian Royal Family

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Savang Vatthana.

• Photographs of Royal Family of Laos
• Death of King Savang Vatthana reported

Sisavang Vatthana Khun Lo Dynasty Cadet branch of the 1984? Born: 13 November 1907 Died: March 1978?/13 May
Regnal titles
Preceded by Sisavang Vong	King of Laos 29 October 1959 – 2 December 1975	Monarchy abolished Communist takeover
Political offices
Preceded by King of Laos	King of Laos 29 October 1959 – 2 December 1975	Succeeded by Prince Souphanouvong as President of Laos
Preceded by Phoui Sananikone	Prime Minister of Laos 15 October 1951 – 21 November 1951	Succeeded by Prince Souvanna Phouma
Titles in pretence
New title	— TITULAR — King of Laos 2 December 1975 – March 1978?/13 May 1984?	Succeeded by Vong Savang