Phomvihan Kaysone

Born Dec. 13, 1920, in Savannakhet Province. Laotian state and political figure.

Phomvihan Kaysone was educated in Hanoi, where he studied in a lycée and at the university. In 1942 he joined the patriotic struggle of the Laotian people against the Japanese occupiers and the French colonialists. In 1950 he was named minister of defense of the government of the Laotian resistance. In 1955 he became general secretary of the Central Committee of the People’s Revolutionary Party of Laos. In the same year he was appointed commander in chief of the patriotic armed forces of Laos. In 1959 he became vice-chairman of the Central Committee of the Patriotic Front of Laos. Phomvihan Kaysone became prime minister of the People’s Democratic Republic of Laos in 1959.