1947–1975 constitutional monarchy in Southeast Asia
For the government that controlled the kingdom, see Royal Lao Government.
Kingdom of Laos
ພຣະຣາຊອານາຈັກຣ໌ລາວ(Lao) Royaume du Laos(French)
1947–1975
Flag
Coat of arms
Anthem:ເພງຊາດລາວ Pheng Xat Lao "Hymn of the Lao People"
Status
French protectorate (1947–1953) Independent state (1953–1975)
Capital
Vientiane (administrative) Luang Phabang (royal)
Largest city
Vientiane
Official languages
Lao French
Spoken languages
Lao
Hmong
Khmu
French
Ethnic groups
Lao Khmu Hmong Phouthai Tai Makong Katang Lue Akha
Religion
Buddhism (official[1]) Tai folk religion Christianity Other/Irreligion
Government
Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
under military dictatorship (1959–1960)
King
• 1946–1959
Sisavang Vong
• 1959–1975
Sisavang Vatthana
Prime Minister
• 1947–1948 (first)
Souvannarath
• 1962–1975 (last)
Souvanna Phouma[a]
Legislature
Parliament
• Upper house
Royal Council
• Lower house
National Assembly
History
• Unification
11 May 1947
• Independence
22 October 1953
• Recognized
21 July 1954
• United Nations admission
14 December 1955
• Communist takeover
23 August 1975
• Lao PDR established
2 December 1975
Area
• Total
236,800 km2 (91,400 sq mi)
Population
•
3,100,000
Currency
Kip (₭) (LAK)
Time zone
UTC+7 (ICT)
Date format
dmy
Driving side
right
Calling code
+856
ISO 3166 code
LA
Internet TLD
.la
Preceded by
Succeeded by
French Protectorate of Laos
French Indochina
Lao People's Democratic Republic
Royal Lao Government in Exile
Today part of
Laos
^Held the position several times.
Part of a series on the
History of Laos
Muang city-states era
Muang Sua
698–1353
Lan Xang era
Lan Xang
1353–1707
Regional kingdoms era
Kingdom of Vientiane
1707–1828
Kingdom of Luang Phrabang
1707–1893
Muang Phuan
1707–1899
Kingdom of Champasak
1713–1904
Colonial era
Lao rebellion
1826–1828
Haw wars
1865–1890
Franco-Siamese crisis
1893
French Protectorate of Laos
1893–1953
Franco-Thai War
1940–1941
Japanese puppet state
1945
Free Lao Movement (Lao Issara)
1945–1949
Independent era
Kingdom of Laos
1946–1975
Laotian Civil War
1953–1975
North Vietnamese invasion of Laos
1958–1959
Anti-Communist Insurgency
1975–2007
Lao People's Democratic Republic
1975–1991
Laos after Soviet dominance
1991–present
See also
History of Laos
History of Isan
v
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e
The Kingdom of Laos was the form of government in Laos from 1947 to 1975. Located in Southeast Asia at the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula, it was bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, North Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and southwest. The country was governed as a constitutional monarchy beginning with its independence on 9 November 1953. It survived until December 1975, when its last king, Sisavang Vatthana, surrendered the throne to the Pathet Lao during the civil war in Laos, who abolished the monarchy in favour of a Marxist–Leninist state called the Lao People's Democratic Republic, which has controlled Laos ever since.[2]
Given self-rule with the new Constitution in 1947 as part of the French Union and a federation with the rest of French Indochina,[3] 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, led by the so-called Three Princes, contended for power: the neutralists under Prince Souvanna Phouma, the right-wing party under Prince Boun Oum of Champassak, and the left-wing, North Vietnamese-backed Pathet Lao under Prince Souphanouvong and future Prime Minister Kaysone Phomvihane.
The Pathet Lao would eventually emerge victorious in the Laotian Civil War and establish the Lao People's Democratic Republic in 1975.
^"Laos Constitution 1947/1949" (PDF). Bloomsbury Professional. 11 May 1947.
^"About this Collection - Country Studies". loc.gov. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
^"Library of Congress - Laos - The Kingdom of Laos". loc.gov. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
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instead of Lao script. Vientiane (/viˌɛntiˈɑːn/ vee-EN-tee-AHN; Lao: ວຽງຈັນ, Viangchan, pronounced [wía̯ŋ t͡ɕàn]) is the capital and largest city ofLaos. Comprising...
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October 1901 – 10 January 1984) was the leader of the neutralist faction and Prime Minister of the KingdomofLaos several times (1951–1954, 1956–1958, 1960...
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South Vietnam), the Kingdomof Cambodia, and the KingdomofLaos. Three agreements about French Indochina, covering Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, were signed...
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