The Royal Lao Government
By 1953 The Royal Lao Government (RLG) presided over an independent Lao nation that claimed a lineage going back to Chao Fa Ngum and the Kingdom of Lan Xang. A spirit of optimism pervaded the young nation as it looked forward hopefully to an era of peace and prosperity whilst building a modern nation with its limited resources. But the dream was to be elusive as geo-political forces played out in and around the small country.
King Sisavangvong signs the Franco-Lao Treaty of Amity and Association granting the Royal Lao Government independence, 22nd October 1953
The final departure of the French from their Indochinese colonies was agreed in 1954 at the Geneva Conference. Vietnam was divided at the 17th parallel into the northern Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) and the southern Republic of Vietnam. The DRV, led by the charismatic Ho Chi Minh who never accepted this division, looked to communist China and the Soviet Union for support whilst the United States of America stepped in to support non-communist governments in the region. The DRV quickly began guerrilla operations against the south using the mountainous jungle trails through eastern Laos to move military personnel and equipment south, a route that would become famous as the "Ho Chi Minh Trail". The RLG was powerless to suppress this illegal use of its territory which would come to have devastating consequences for the Lao.
Whilst the division of Vietnam was clearly visible on a map, there were also major divisions below the surface within Laos. When the French had granted limited sovereignty in 1949 most of the Free Lao exiles returned home and became ministers in the RLG. But many of these ministers were either members or clients of the old royal families of the old Lao kingdoms of Luang Prabang, Vientiane, Champasak and Xieng Khouang. Centuries old loyalties and rivalries plagued any attempt at a national consensus on issues.
Pathet Lao leader Prince Souphanouvong speaks to villagers in Napha 1970
Most significantly Prince Souphanouvong, from Luang Prabang's Front Palace dynasty, split with the Free Lao in 1949 and instead of returning home joined the Viet Minh. In 1950 Prince Souphanouvong joined the Communist Party of Indochina and the Neo Lao Hak Sat party was created, more often known as the Pathet Lao, which worked closely with the Democratic republic of Vietnam and its Viet Minh forces. In 1953 a major military push by the Viet Minh/Pathet Lao reached as far as Muang Ngoi, just a few hours north of Luang Prabang. The French urged the King to evacuate Luang Prabang with the sacred Prabang Buddha but he steadfastly refused to leave. In the end the attack on the capital never came but the Pathet Lao established their headquarters in Houaphan Province, situated halfway between Hanoi and Luang Prabang. Outside of the urban centres large swathes of the country were increasingly under the control of the Pathet Lao.
Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma attempted to steer a middle "neutralist" path between the increasingly dangerous Cold War positions of left and right. In 1957 he helped form an elected coalition government including Pathet Lao representatives. Notably Prince Souphanouvong won the highest individual vote of any candidate and became the Minister of Planning, Reconstruction and Town Planning. The Americans were so shocked by this coalition with communists that they cut off all aid, causing the collapse of the coalition and the establishment of a more right-wing government. This government in turn was ousted in a surprise coup led by Captain Kong Le in August 1960 which led to the outbreak of fighting between rightist and neutralist factions within Laos. Fierce fighting in Vientiane caused some 600 casualties before Kong Le's neutralists retreated to The Plain of Jars, where many defected to the Pathet Lao.
Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma discusses the Lao situation with President Kennedy, 1962
The election of John F. Kennedy as US President made conditions more favourable for the neutralists and in June 1962 a second coalition government with all factions was formed. But a wave of political assassinations in Vientiane destabilised the situation and before planned elections could be held the Pathet Lao representatives fled the capital in fear for their safety. The country now slid into full scale civil war between the RLG and Pathet Lao. Souvanna Phouma remained Prime Minister until the end of the RLG in 1975, presiding over an ever declining Lao economy that became more and more dependent upon and corrupted by inflows of US money. Throughout this period he maintained contact with his half-brother, the Pathet Lao leader, Prince Souphanouvong but the country was caught in the deepening crisis of the Second Indochina War.
The Bombing of Laos
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The Second Indo-Chinese war escalated rapidly, fuelled by the geo-political interests of the USSR and USA. Laos, a neutral country, was caught between the USSR backed Vietnamese, who did not want the world to know the extent of their military presence inside Laos, and the American backed RLG who did not want the world to know the extent of American military operations in Laos. The Americans relied upon aerial bombardment to suppress communist insurgency into Laos and the famous Ho Chi Minh supply trail in the eastern border provinces of Laos and initially they worked in consultation with the RLG. But in 1962 Souvanna Phouma gave the Americans permission to run missions independently and bombing missions rapidly escalated over the eastern border regions and the heavily contested Plain of Jars. Whilst urban areas such as Vientiane and Luang Prabang remained unscathed rural communities were devastated and historic towns such as Xieng Khouang were completely destroyed.
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During a nine year period 580,000 bombing missions dropped some 4 billion bombs on Laos. To survive this unprecedented bombardment the Pathet Lao moved underground, protected by innumerable caves within the beautiful limestone karst scenery that now attract admiring tourists. Whole communities moved into the caves to escape the bombs, establishing schools, hospitals and even some factories in the darkness. Prince Souphanouvong wrote several letters to both his brother Souvanna Phouma and to King Sisavang Vattana pleading with them to halt the bombings and whilst they could have certainly withdrawn the RLG's permission for the constant raids, both remained committed to the American strategy. Laos would become the world's most bombed nation.
Lao textile workers in a cave, probably Houaphan Province, 1971
Despite all the destruction and countless deaths of Lao civilians, the Ho Chi Minh supply route was not shut down and the Viet Minh/Pathet Lao forces eventually made significant gains on the Plain of Jars and the Bolaven Plateau. By 1972 America was looking to extricate itself from the "Vietnam War" as quickly as possible. After the Paris peace treaty was signed with Vietnam in January 1973 the American's leant heavily on the RLG to accept a cease fire with the Pathet Lao, which was agreed to on 21 February. The subsequent Vientiane Agreement allowed for Pathet Lao forces to enter Vientiane and Luang Prabang and form joint police units with the RLG.
In April 1974 Prince Souphanouvong, the public face of the Pathet Lao, triumphantly flew into Vientiane. He was greeted by a tired Prime-Minister Souvanna Phouma and enormous cheering crowds who believed that this reconciliation between the two half-brothers symbolised a national reconciliation and peace. This hope was premature. With the Americans gone the Viet Minh/Pathet Lao continued fighting against weakened and demoralised RLG forces. In Vientiane and Luang Prabang the Pathet Lao stirred up continual protests against the RLG. In April 1975 King Sisavang Vattana dissolved the National Assembly. Days later first Cambodia and then South Vietnam fell to communist armies. Many of the right wing leaders in Vientiane fled to Thailand. Bizarrely at this critical time the king was being conducted by Souphanouvong on a tour of the Pathet Lao headquarters in Houaphan Province, where he was treated with impeccable respect by communist cadres singing revolutionary songs.
In April 1974 Prince Souphanouvong, the public face of the Pathet Lao, triumphantly flew into Vientiane. He was greeted by a tired Prime-Minister Souvanna Phouma and enormous cheering crowds who believed that this reconciliation between the two half-brothers symbolised a national reconciliation and peace. This hope was premature. With the Americans gone the Viet Minh/Pathet Lao continued fighting against weakened and demoralised RLG forces. In Vientiane and Luang Prabang the Pathet Lao stirred up continual protests against the RLG. In April 1975 King Sisavang Vattana dissolved the National Assembly. Days later first Cambodia and then South Vietnam fell to communist armies. Many of the right wing leaders in Vientiane fled to Thailand. Bizarrely at this critical time the king was being conducted by Souphanouvong on a tour of the Pathet Lao headquarters in Houaphan Province, where he was treated with impeccable respect by communist cadres singing revolutionary songs.
Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma formally greets his half-brother and Pathet Lao leader Souphanouvong in Vientiane, 1974
In Vientiane and Luang Prabang protests against the RLG administration increased with RLG "reactionaries" being targeted and removed from their positions. By August both cities were under the complete control of "revolutionary administrative committees". The final step was precipitated by another large protest in Vientiane on 26 November 1975 calling for an end to both the government and the monarchy. Souvanna Phouma and Souphanouvong flew to Luang Prabang and persuaded the king to abdicate. Crown Prince Vong Savang announced his father’s abdication to a secret Congress of People’s Representatives in Vientiane on the 1st December. The following day the congress was presided over by Kaysone Phomvihan, a figure barely known to the outside world, who read a motion to establish the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.
The Lao People's Demoractic Republic
The first president of the Lao People's Democratic Republic was Souphanouvong but real power lay with Kaysone Phomvihan who became Prime-Minister. Kaysone Phomvihan had been born in Savannakhet in 1920 to a Vietnamese father and Lao mother. He studied in Hanoi where he took up the revolutionary cause, establishing the Lao People's Revolutionary Army, fore-runner of the Pathet Lao, in 1949 and a year later becoming the Defence Minister in the newly created Neo Lao Hak Sat resistance government headed by Souphanouvong.
A modern day street sign in Laos lauds the friendly meeting between Kaysone Phomvihan (L) and Ho Chi Minh (R) in 1962
Naturally the Lao PDR aligned itself on the international stage with the USSR and the new regimes in Vietnam and Cambodia. Although the nation was finally at peace, just like all its modern predecessors the government quickly found itself in a dire economic position. The loss of American aid caused a massive contraction in the economy which was then exacerbated by the rigid and oppressive policies of the new regime. Thousands of experienced officials from the old regime were sent for "re-education" in remote prison camps, many either never returning or languishing there for a decade. Rigid policies also attempted to cooperatize agriculture and eliminate free enterprise prompting a flood of migrants to flee to Thailand. Luang Prabang with its royal history was particularly distrusted by the central government in Vientiane. The many annual ceremonies in which the king had been the principal actor were abolished and whilst the temples and monkhood were not suppressed directly, traditional donations by the population to their local temple were discouraged as wasteful of precious economic resources. In contrast to the Buddhist-Lao ethno-centric RLG, the new government promoted the ethnic diversity of the nation since the support of the hill dwelling ethnic minorities has been a major factor in its ultimate success.
But by the end of the decade the failure of the government's economic policies could not be ignored and a change of direction was signalled, with the abandoning of cooperatization and the opening up of limited free enterprise. Since then further relaxations have been permitted to encourage business and investment. Since the collapse of the USSR in 1991 the government has downplayed its Marxist-Leninist credentials and instead revived and invoked the history of Lan Xang and traditional Buddhist practices to provide legitimacy. This revival of Buddhist practice together with modified versions of the old royal ceremonies appeals to the tourism industry which since the 1990's has been heavily encouraged and is now a significant contributor to the Lao economy.
But by the end of the decade the failure of the government's economic policies could not be ignored and a change of direction was signalled, with the abandoning of cooperatization and the opening up of limited free enterprise. Since then further relaxations have been permitted to encourage business and investment. Since the collapse of the USSR in 1991 the government has downplayed its Marxist-Leninist credentials and instead revived and invoked the history of Lan Xang and traditional Buddhist practices to provide legitimacy. This revival of Buddhist practice together with modified versions of the old royal ceremonies appeals to the tourism industry which since the 1990's has been heavily encouraged and is now a significant contributor to the Lao economy.
The China-Lao Railway dramatically reduces the travel time for goods and people between China and Laos.
Today Laos has naturally moved into the political and economic orbit of its large and powerful Socialist neighbour China which provides loans for large infrastructure projects such as the China-Lao Highspeed Rail project which opened in 2022, dramatically reducing Lao isolation for both tourists and trade. Hydro-electric dams on the Mekong and its tributaries are another target for investment with the aim of proving revenue to Laos by selling the electricity to its neighbours, particularly Thailand. Mining for bauxite, copper and other ores are also a major source of income. All these infrastructure projects come at a cost both in economic debt and environmental degradation, issues that the country struggles to find solutions for. But Laos is also a young country, 50% of its population is aged under 24 years, providing the opportunity of significant demographic boost to developing its economy in coming decades.