(1901–1984), Lao political leader. Born in Luang Prabang, Prince Souvanna Phouma was the moderate leader of Laos from the time of its struggle for independence until the Pathet Lao takeover in 1975. Souvanna Phouma was the nephew of King Sisavangvong and half brother of Prince Souphanouvong, his political adversary. He studied engineering in Hanoi and France and worked for the public works administration of Indochina. The restoration of Haw Pra Keo, once a Buddhist shrine but now the Museum of Art and Antiquities, was one of his achievements in the civil service. Souvanna Phouma joined the Lao Issara, or Free Lao, resistance government led by his brother Prince Phetsarat as minister of public works. He fledto Thailand with other members of the Lao Issara when the French regained control in 1946, but he returned to Laos when the Lao Issara disbanded in 1949. In 1951 Souvanna formed the Progressive Party and was elected prime minister of Laos in the same year. During his first administration, he negotiated Laos's independence from France at the Geneva conference in 1953. The political instability of the civil war caused the removal and reinstatement of Souvanna as premier seven additional times, including in three coalition governments. After the proclamation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Souvanna Phouma served the government as a political adviser until his death in 1984.
Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma in 1969. (BETTMAN/CORBIS)
Further Reading
Dommen, Arthur J. (1971) Conflict in Laos: The Politics ofNeutralization. New York: Praeger.
Stuart-Fox, Martin. (1997) A History of Laos. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
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