native_name_lang predecessor successor death_date birth_place party primeminister native_name birth_date order term_start article_title term_end name
lo souphanouvong kaysone phomvihane 7 january 1994 -lrb- aged 84 -rrb- xieng khouang , laos pppl khamtai siphandon ພູມີ ວົງວິຈິດ april 6 . 1909 acting president of laos october 31 , 1986 phoumi vongvichit
 august 15 , 1991 -lrb- acting for souphanouvong -rrb- phoumi vongvichit
phoumi vongvichit

phoumi vongvichit -lrb- april 6 , 1909 -- 7 january 1994 -rrb- was a leading figure of the pathet lao and an elder statesman of the lao people 's democratic republic .
he was born april 6 , 1909 in xieng khouang , the son of a civil servant .
he was educated in the lao capital vientiane , after which he joined the colonial civil service .
after postings in vientiane , luang prabang and xieng khouang , he was promoted to district chief -lrb- `` chao muang '' -rrb- and served in xieng khouang -lrb- 1939 -rrb- and vientiane -lrb- 1940 - 1945 -rrb- .
in january 1945 he was appointed governor -lrb- `` chao khoueng '' -rrb- of houaphan where he remained until the japanese surrender in august 1945 .
the following month , phoumi cooperated with free french forces when they briefly seized the town of sam neua , but subsequently he joined the anti-colonialist lao issara movement and worked closely with the viet minh to oppose the return of french authority in indochina .
in 1946 , after the french reasserted their authority in laos , phoumi made his way to northern thailand where for the next three years he was active in the lao issara .
at the end of 1949 , having refused to accept the offer of amnesty upon dissolution of the lao issara government-in-exile in thailand , phoumi was one of the handful of lao who joined souphanouvong in northern vietnam .
there he attended the founding congress of the neo lao issara -lrb- the free laos front -rrb- .
phoumi 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 nominally retained both positions until the geneva agreements of 1954 brought the first indochina war to an end .
in 1954 and 1955 , phoumi 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 was one of the founding members of the lao people 's party and was elected to its political bureau .
the following january he was elected to the central committee of the lao patriotic front -lrb- neo lao hak xat -rrb- .
in 1956 , phoumi 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 .
these opened the way for formation of the first coalition government in which phoumi served as minister of religion and fine arts .
-lrb- the other pathet lao minister was souphanouvong at the ministry of economy and plan . -rrb-
from this time , phoumi took a lively interest in the buddhist sangha , recognizing its potential as a propaganda organ for opposition to the americanization of lao society , but also as a vehicle for the propagation of lao cultural values .
in the supplementary elections of may 1958 , phoumi was elected to the national assembly to serve as a deputy for luang prabang .
in the political crisis that followed the electoral success of the left , phoumi lost his ministry .
in july 1959 he was arrested along with other pathet lao deputies , and imprisoned without ever being brought to trial .
in a famous may 1960 episode he escaped with souphanouvong and other leading pathet lao prisoners and their guards , and made the long march to the pathet lao zone in xieng khouang .
after the battle of vientiane in december 1960 and the subsequent retreat of neutralist forces to the plain of jars , phoumi was instrumental in arranging for pathet lao-neutralist collaboration .
he 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 left vientiane with other pathet lao ministers .
by this time laos had been dragged into the vietnam war -lrb- second indochina war -rrb- between the united states and north vietnam .
for the next ten years , phoumi alternated between living in the limestone caverns of viengxay and leading various pathet lao delegations to international communist gatherings .
he 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 .
after formation of the lao people 's democratic republic in december 1975 , phoumi was named second deputy prime minister and minister of education , sport and religious affairs .
in the reorganization that followed the third congress of the lprp in 1982 , phoumi became a member of the inner cabinet with overall responsibility for education , information and culture .
in 1986 , when souphanouvong was forced to step down from the presidency for reasons of health , phoumi was named acting president of the lpdr and chairman of the lao front for national construction .
he retired from the acting presidency and the politburo at the fifth party congress in march 1991 .
since 1991 , he and prince souphanouvong , sisomphon lovansay is advisors of party 's central committee -lsb- http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-7863.html] .
