Souvanna Phouma

Born Oct. 7, 1901, in Luang Prabang. Laotian political figure. Prince.

Souvanna Phouma was prime minister in the government of the kingdom of Laos three times: 1951–54, 1956–58, and 1960–62. After the conclusion of the Geneva Agreements of 1954, he sought a political settlement in Laos by way of an agreement with the patriotic forces of the Free Lao Front (Neo Lao Issara), which was succeeded in 1956 by the Patriotic Front of Laos (Neo Lao Hak Sat). In 1962, Souvanna Phouma became prime minister of the provisional coalition government, the government of national unity, which signed the Geneva Agreements of 1962 on Laos. The coalition fell apart in 1963–64, and Souvanna Phouma became prime minister of the king’s government in the Vientiane zone. His negotiations in 1972–73 with the Patriotic Front of Laos resulted in the Vientiane Agreement on Restoring Peace and Achieving National Concord, signed on Feb. 21, 1973, and the protocol to the agreement, signed on Sept. 14, 1973. From April 1974 to December 1975, Souvanna Phouma headed a provisional government of national unity. In December 1975 he became an adviser to the prime minister of the People’s Democratic Republic of Laos.