Hang Sao (Haam Choj, a given Mong name) was a prominent figure in the Laotian Civil War. He was raised in the city of Pah Leong, Xieng Khoua. Hang Sao served in the Royal Lao Army

Royal Lao Army

The Royal Lao Army was the armed forces of the Kingdom of Laos. Its predecessor was the National Laotian Army - NLA of the French Union, created in 1947 from 'maquis', or guerrilla units gathered by French commandos. It was created in 1954 after the French granted Laos complete autonomy...

 from 1961 to 1975. In 1969, he was appointed to the post of Lieutenant Colonel

Lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...

 by General Oun Latikun and Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Laos

The Prime Minister of Laos is the head of government of the People's Democratic Republic of Laos.-Prime Ministers:-Trivia:Between December 1959 to December 1960, Laos had 6 different Prime Ministers, after being ousted by 6 different political coups....

 Souvanhna. He also served as an advisor to General Vang Pao

Vang Pao

Vang Pao was a Lieutenant General in the Royal Lao Army. He was an ethnic Hmong and a leader of the Hmong American community in the United States.-Early life:...

 during the conflict. Hang Sao and his family emigrated from Laos to France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 in 1976, and then to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

: first to Seattle, Washington in 1978, and finally to Detroit, Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

 in 1984. In 1982, Hang Sao was appointed as Deputy Minister of Interior by the Royal Lao Government in Exile

Royal Lao Government in Exile

The Royal Lao Government in Exile is a Lao Government in Exile in opposition to the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Its goal is to "institute in Laos a true democracy, one which will ensure freedom, justice, peace and prosperity for all Lao people." It is chaired by His Excellency Khamphoui...

 and in 1992, he was appointed as an advisor to the King of Laos in-exile, LangXang Houng Kau. Hang Sao earned his Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 in political science

Political science

Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...

 in 1995, and was elected to ten Hmong

Hmong people

The Hmong , are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China...

 churches. He was active in the Hmong American

Hmong American

A Hmong American is a resident of the United States who is of ethnic Hmong descent. Hmong Americans are one group of Asian Americans. Many Lao Hmong war refugees resettled in the U.S. following the communist takeover of Laos in 1975...

community until his death in 2004.