Kingdom of Laos
Encyclopedia
Pathet Lao
The Pathet Lao was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group was ultimately successful in assuming political power after the Laotian Civil War. The Pathet Lao were always closely associated with Vietnamese communists...
overthrew the government and created the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Given self-rule in 1949 as part of a federation with the rest of French Indochina, the 1953 Franco-Lao Treaty finally established a sovereign, independent Laos, but did not stipulate who would rule the country. In the years that followed, three groups contended for power: the neutralists under Prince Souvanna Phouma
Souvanna Phouma
Prince Souvanna Phouma was the leader of the neutralist faction and prime minister of the Kingdom of Laos several times, from 1951–1952, 1956–1958, 1960 and 1962-1975.-Early life:...
, the right-wing party under Prince Boun Oum
Boun Oum
Prince Boun Oum was the son of King Ratsadanay, and was the hereditary prince of Champassack and also Prime Minister of Laos.-Early life:...
of Champassak, and the left-wing, Vietnamese-backed Lao Patriotic Front (now called the Pathet Lao) under Prince Souphanouvong
Souphanouvong
Prince Souphanouvong was, along with his half-brother Prince Souvanna Phouma and Prince Boun Oum of Champasak, one of the “Three Princes” who represented respectively the communist , neutralist, and royalist political factions in Laos...
and future Prime Minister Kaysone Phomvihane
Kaysone Phomvihane
Kaysone Phomvihane was the leader of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party from 1955, though Souphanouvong served in a figurehead role...
.
Government
Following the Franco-Lao Treaty of 1953, which gave Laos independence, the Royal Lao GovernmentRoyal Lao Government
The Royal Lao Government was the ruling authority in the Kingdom of Laos from 1947 until the communist seizure of power in December 1975 and the proclamation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic...
took control of the country. This treaty established a constitutional monarchy, with Sisavang Vong
Sisavang Vong
Sisavang Phoulivong , was king of Kingdom of Luang Phrabang and later Kingdom of Laos from 28 April 1904 until his death on 20 October 1959.-Early life:...
as King and Prince Souvanna Phouma as 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....
. At this time, Luang Phrabang was the royal capital.
Many attempts were made to establish coalition governments: a Government of National Unity was established in 1958 under Prince Souvanna Phouma
Souvanna Phouma
Prince Souvanna Phouma was the leader of the neutralist faction and prime minister of the Kingdom of Laos several times, from 1951–1952, 1956–1958, 1960 and 1962-1975.-Early life:...
, but only survived a few months. The Prime Minister, who under the constitution appointed his ministers and received advice from the King, made a deal with his brother Prince Souphanouvong
Souphanouvong
Prince Souphanouvong was, along with his half-brother Prince Souvanna Phouma and Prince Boun Oum of Champasak, one of the “Three Princes” who represented respectively the communist , neutralist, and royalist political factions in Laos...
: Souvanna Phouma gave the Communists two seats in the Cabinet, and in return Souphanouvong would integrate 1,500 of his 6,000 Communist troops into the royal army. His half-brother was given the post of Minister of Planning, Reconstruction and Urbanization, while another member of the Communist Party was named Minister of Religion and Fine Arts.
Military
The Kingdom of Laos was divided into five military regions. The military is split into three branches: the Royal Lao ArmyRoyal 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...
, the Royal Lao Navy, and the Royal Lao Air Force
Royal Lao Air Force
The Royal Lao Air Force was the air force branch of the Military of the Royal Lao Government in the Kingdom of Laos. The RLAF, along with the Royal Lao Navy, and the Royal Lao Army, were placed under the control of the Ministry of Defense in Vientiane....
, which was under the control of the Ministry of Defence in Vientiane.
The United States supplied the Royal Lao Navy with twenty river patrol boats and sixteen amphibious landing craft. Between 1962 and 1971, the United States provided Laos with an estimated US$500 million in military assistance, not including the cost of equipping and training irregular and paramilitary forces.
Foreign relations
The Royal Lao Government had close relations with the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, who gave the country aid and assisted it in the campaign against the Pathet Lao
Pathet Lao
The Pathet Lao was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group was ultimately successful in assuming political power after the Laotian Civil War. The Pathet Lao were always closely associated with Vietnamese communists...
and North Vietnamese Communist movement. King Savang Vatthana visited the United States in 1963 to meet with President Kennedy.
Laos was also supported by 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...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Fall of the government
In 1960, amidst a series of rebellions, fighting broke out between the Royal Lao ArmyRoyal 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...
and the Pathet Lao
Pathet Lao
The Pathet Lao was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group was ultimately successful in assuming political power after the Laotian Civil War. The Pathet Lao were always closely associated with Vietnamese communists...
. A second Provisional Government of National Unity formed by Prince Souvanna Phouma
Souvanna Phouma
Prince Souvanna Phouma was the leader of the neutralist faction and prime minister of the Kingdom of Laos several times, from 1951–1952, 1956–1958, 1960 and 1962-1975.-Early life:...
in 1962 proved to be unsuccessful, and the situation steadily deteriorated thereafter as the conflict in Laos became a focus for superpower rivalry.
Alarmed by the growing power and influence of the Việt Minh
Viet Minh
Việt Minh was a national independence coalition formed at Pac Bo on May 19, 1941. The Việt Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire. When the Japanese occupation began, the Việt Minh opposed Japan with support from the United States and the Republic of China...
, and fearing the spread of Communism, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
began to provide aid to Laos in 1953, in the process engendering widespread corruption within the Royal Lao Government. American involvement increased further in the early 1960s, when, in response to a perceived Soviet-backed Communist attempt to take over Laos, the US launched a covert war
Secret War
The Laotian Civil War was a fight between the Communist Pathet Lao, often North Vietnamese of Lao ancestry, and the Royal Lao Government in which both the political rightists and leftists received heavy external support for a proxy war from the global Cold War superpowers...
in Laos, which was in direct violation of the Geneva conventions
Geneva Conventions
The Geneva Conventions comprise four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish the standards of international law for the humanitarian treatment of the victims of war...
. This involved a great deal of military support, including the training and equipping of RLG General Vang Pao’s forces in Xieng Khouang Province by US Special Forces, and the ferrying of men and equipment into Laos from Thailand by the CIA’s commercial airline, Air America.
A ceasefire was finally attained in February 1973, following the Paris Peace Accords
Paris Peace Accords
The Paris Peace Accords of 1973 intended to establish peace in Vietnam and an end to the Vietnam War, ended direct U.S. military involvement, and temporarily stopped the fighting between North and South Vietnam...
between the United States and North Vietnam. In April 1974, another Provincial Government of National Unity was established, once more with Prince Souvanna Phouma as Prime Minister. However, by this time, Pathet Lao forces controlled large areas of the country, and following the fall of Saigon
Fall of Saigon
The Fall of Saigon was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front on April 30, 1975...
in April 1975 they advanced on the capital.
In December 2 1975 in Vientiane, Prince Vongsavang submitted the letter of abdication of King Savang Vatthana
Savang Vatthana
Savang or Sisavang Vatthana was the last king of the Kingdom of Laos. He ruled from 1959 after his father's death, until his forced abdication in 1975...
to the Pathet Lao. The Lao People's Democratic Republic was established with Prince Souphannavong as President. Kaysone Phomvihane acted as Prime Minister and Secretary-General of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party
Lao People's Revolutionary Party
The Lao People's Revolutionary Party is a communist political party that has governed Laos since 1975. The policy-making organs are the politburo and the central committee. A party congress, which elects members to the politburo and central committee, is held every five years...
.
Aftermath
Many citizens and members of the old government were taken to re-education camps in remote areas of Laos following the coup. After the Communist takeover in 1975, the new government killed 2 million people of Laos, along with civil servants and citizens suspected of aiding forces that opposed the Communist government.See also
- History of Laos since 1945History of Laos since 1945For Laotian history before 1945, see History of Laos to 1945.Note: this article follows the system for transliterating Lao names used in Martin Stuart-Fox's History of Laos...
- Laotian Royal FamilyLaotian Royal FamilyThe Lao Royal Family was the ruling family of the Kingdom of Laos from 1904 to 1975 and the group of close relatives of the monarch of the Kingdom of Laos...
- Royal Lao Government in ExileRoyal Lao Government in ExileThe 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...