Kaysone Phomvihan
(1920–1992), president of Laos. Kaysone was born in Savannakhet, the son of a Vietnamese civil servant father and Laotian mother. He studied law in Hanoi, where he became actively involved in the Viet Minh (Viet League, or fully, League for the Independence of Vietnam), an umbrella organization of Vietnamese Communists seeking independence from the French regime in Indochina (Laos had been a protectorate in the French Indochinese union since 1893). When the French returned to gain control of Laos following the Japanese occupation of the nation at the end of World War II, Kaysone fought to thwart their attempts but was unsuccessful.
Kaysone joined the Indochinese Communist Party in 1949 and became the defense minister of the Pathet Lao, or Lao Nation, a nationalist resistance movement. Kaysone assumed command of the Pathet Lao armed forces, precursor of the People's Liberation Army of Laos of which he later became commander, and waged guerrilla war to take control of Laos.
In 1953, Kaysone and Prince Souphanuvong (1909–1995) established northern Laos as the Pathet Lao stronghold and in 1955 formed the Lao People's Party, to which Kaysone was elected general secretary. In 1975 Kaysone became prime minister of Laos after the socialists gained control of the nation. As prime minister, he stressed the importance of leadership by the party and strict adherence to socialist doctrine. He strengthened Laotian ties with Vietnam and the Soviet Union while distancing the nation from the People's Republic of China. In the 1990s, after the breakup of the Soviet Union, Kaysone loosened restrictions on private ownership of land and the practice of Buddhism, promoted a market economy, and fostered cordial relations with China. Kaysone became president of the Lao People's Democratic Republic in 1991 and, following his death, remains revered by Lao citizens as a national hero.
Further Reading
Kaysone Phomvihan: Revolution in Laos. Practice and Prospects. (1981) Moscow: Progress Publishers.
Stuart-Fox, Martin. (1996) Buddhist Kingdom, Marxist State: The Making of Modern Laos. Bangkok, Thailand: White Lotus.
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