Kaysone Phomvihane
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Kaysone Phomvihane (December 13, 1920–November 21, 1992) was the leader of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party from 1955, though Souphanouvong served in a figurehead role. He served as the first prime minister of the Lao People's Democratic Republic and then as president until his death in 1992.
[edit] Biography
Phomvihane was born in Na Seng village, Khanthabouli district now Kaysone Phomvihane District, Savannakhet Province, Laos. His mother was Laotian, his father Vietnamese.[1][2]
Phomvihane attended law school at Hanoi University in Hanoi, Vietnam. He dropped out of law school to fight the French colonialists who were in Vietnam. Later, he joined the Pathet Lao, which was also fighting the French colonialists.
He died in Vientiane, Laos. After his death, the Laotian government built an eight million dollar gold-plated museum in his honor, in Vientiane, partially funded by Vietnam,[3] with a 30 foot, cast-iron, statue of Phomvihane as a middle-aged pot-bellied gentleman in a tight-fitting suit in front of the building.[4]
He became an active revolutionary while studying in the Indochinese capital of Hà Nội during the 1940s. In 1955 he was instrumental in setting up the LPRP at Samnuea in northern Laos, and served as the Pathet Lao leader since the founding, though Souphanouvong served as the figure head. In the years which followed he led communist forces against the Kingdom of Laos and the Americans. After their victory he served as Prime Minister from the founding of the Lao PDR in 1972 until 1991. He married to Thongvinh Phomvihane, an ethnic Vietnamese. They were childless, but had adopted a son. After his death, the Lao communist party dropped his wife from the party, mounting concern over heroin trafficking. She used her diplomat status and trafficked heroin into Vietnam several times, and got caught as well. Pretty much nobody in Laos knew communist Vietnam better than Kaysone Phomvihane, and he knew how to deal with them effectively. He had his odd moment with communist Vietnam over Lao-Viet border issues. Lao and Vietnamese forces almost clashed over their common border. The Lao communist party chose the tactic of ignoring and delaying over Lao/Viet border issues. The demarcation process started in 1977 and just finished in 2007. According to western journalist the Lao/Viet borderline is "very close" to the 1945 border between Laos and Tonkin and Annam, respectively. Vietnam Vs China and Vietnam Vs Cambodia border issues are not settled well like Lao/Viet have accomplished. According to Vatthana Pholsena, Assistant professor of Southeast Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore, the author of the book "Post-war Laos" Kaysone Phomvihane was the top policy maker in LPDR, and a strongman. He created Sekong province to honor the southern minority for their support on the war effort.
[edit] References
- ^ Kaysone Phomvihane. Retrieved on 2007-09-10.
- ^ Lao People's Revolutionary Party - LPRP
- ^ Former President Kaysone Phomvihane Memorial Museum. Visiting Arts, Laos Cultural Profile. Retrieved on 2007-09-10.
- ^ Jones, Owen Bennett. "Laos: 25 years of communism", BBC News, Saturday, 30 December, 2000, 13:16 GMT. Retrieved on 2007-09-10.
| Preceded by Phoumi Vongvichit |
President of Laos 1991-1992 |
Succeeded by Nouhak Phoumsavanh |
| Preceded by Souvanna Phouma |
Prime Minister of Laos 1975-1991 |
Succeeded by Khamtai Siphandon |
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