Kong Le
The Patriotic Neutralists movement that Kham Ouane Boupha headed was an indirect result of the 1960 coup led by Captain Kong Le. When the paratroop officer took control of the Kingdom of Laos in August 1960, he founded "Forces Armee Neutraliste" (Neutral Armed Forces) as a non-aligned force in the Laotian Civil War separate from the Communists and the Royalists. Kong Le would subsequently lose both the Battle of Vientiane and control of Laos in December 1960 to General Phoumi Nosavan, and retreat to the Plain of Jars. Once there, Kong Le was originally helped by the Pathet Lao communists, but eventually turned away from them toward the Royalists. Dissatisfaction within FAN's ranks would lead to a split in the neutralist movement in April 1963. The Patriotic Neutralists split off as a pro-communist faction.