Souphanouvong, Prince
(1901–1995), Lao political leader. Souphanouvong, or the "Red Prince," born in Luang Prabang in 1901, was the leader of the Pathet Lao, or Lao Nation, resistance government. He studied engineering in Paris, where he met his politically active Vietnamese wife, Nguyen Thi Ky Nam, who encouraged Souphanouvong's political aspirations. He was foreign minister in the Lao Issara, or Free Lao, government from 1945 through 1949. As leader of the Lao Issara armed forces, he fought the French and was wounded at Thakhek in 1946. He then strengthened ties with the Viet Minh. He left the Lao Issara in 1949 due to his radical ideology and formed his own resistance government, the Pathet Lao, in 1950. Souphanouvong formed the Lao People's Party in 1956 with Kaysone Phomvihane, and was a lifelong member of its central committee. He also joined all three coalition governments during the Lao civil war (1956–1975). Souphanouvong was opposed by Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma (1901–1984), his half brother, and was arrested after the collapse of the first coalition government in 1959 but escaped in 1960. He became the first president of the Lao People's Democratic Republic on 2 December 1975 in the Pathet Lao's takeover. The "Red Prince" strengthened ties with Vietnam and the Soviet Union as president until his resignation in 1986.
Further Reading
Dommen, Arthur J. (1971) Conflict in Laos: The Politics of Neutralization. New York: Praeger.
Souphanouvong. (1989) Autobiography of Prince Souphanouvong. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Malaysia Mining Corporation Board.
Stuart-Fox, Martin. (1997) A History of Laos. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
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