14 Facts About Phoumi Vongvichit

Phoumi Vongvichit was a leading figure of the Pathet Lao and an elder statesman of the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

Phoumi Vongvichit was born April 6,1909, in Xieng Khouang, the son of a civil servant.

Phoumi Vongvichit was educated in the Lao capital Vientiane, after which he joined the colonial civil service.

In 1946, after the French reasserted their authority in Laos, Phoumi Vongvichit made his way to northern Thailand where for the next three years he was active in the Lao Issara.

Phoumi Vongvichit was nominated both Secretary-General of the Front, and Minister of the Interior and Deputy Prime Minister in the Pathet Lao Resistance government that the Front established in opposition to the Royal Lao government in Vientiane.

The Resistance government gained no international recognition, but Phoumi Vongvichit nominally retained both positions until the Geneva Agreements of 1954 brought the First Indochina War to an end.

In 1954 and 1955, Phoumi Vongvichit led Pathet Lao delegations in negotiations with the Royal Lao government over reintegration of the provinces of Phong Saly and Houaphan.

In March 1955, Phoumi Vongvichit was one of the founding members of the Lao People's Party and was elected to its Political Bureau.

In 1956, Phoumi Vongvichit continued to be involved in negotiations over integration which eventuated in the signing of a series of agreements, known as the Vientiane Agreements, the following year.

Phoumi Vongvichit led the Pathet Lao delegation to the Geneva Conference on the neutrality of Laos in 1962, and served as Minister of Information, Propaganda and Tourism in the Second Coalition government.

In 1964, after a series of political assassinations, Phoumi Vongvichit left Vientiane with other Pathet Lao ministers.

Phoumi Vongvichit retained his positions in both the Politburo and the Lao Patriotic Front, and took a leading role in negotiations leading to formation of the Third Coalition government in 1974, in which he served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

In 1986, when Souphanouvong was forced to step down from the Presidency for reasons of health, Phoumi Vongvichit was named Acting President of the LPDR and Chairman of the Lao Front for National Construction.

Phoumi Vongvichit retired from the Acting Presidency and the Politburo at the Fifth Party Congress in March 1991.