Katāy Dōn Sasōrit

Katāy Dōn Sasōrit ( Laotian ກະ ຕ່າຍ ໂດນ ສະ ໂສ ລິດ , also written Katay Don Sasorith ; * July 12, 1904 in Pakse ; † December 29, 1959 ) was a Laotian politician of the independence movement, from November 1954 to March 1956 Prime Minister of Laos and minister in several cabinets to 1958.

Life path

Katāy Dōn Sasōrit was the son of a Vietnamese father and a Laotian mother. He received his training in Hanoi , after which he joined the French colonial administration in 1926.

During the Second World War (1941-1945) he was with Nhouy Abhay and French support founder of the "Movement for National Renewal", which represented anti-Thai positions. In organizing young intellectuals, he received the help of Charles Rochet , the Vichy official for the school system. They composed a national anthem, honored the flag of Laos and published their own magazine, the Lao and French-speaking Lao Nyai.

When the movement collapsed after the Japanese on 9/10 After the French who were loyal to Vichy were arrested on March 25, 1945, he joined the Lao Issara movement , like many nationalist Laotians . In their government, which was formed in October 1945, he served as finance minister, a difficult task as there were virtually no funds available. With others he went into exile in Bangkok . On July 19, 1949, the Franco-Laotian Treaty was signed, which should make Laos an independent member within the Union française . The government-in-exile dissolved on October 24, 1949, and like the other members, he then returned home.

After independence, he was elected to the National Assembly in 1948 and was then Minister of Finance and Economics from 1951 to 1954. In 1954 he became chairman of the Progressive Party ( Phak Kaonā ) founded by Prince Suvanna Phūmā , and in November he succeeded the prince as prime minister. He took a tough line against the Pathet Lao . He was overthrown in March 1956 for his failure to bring about national reconciliation.

In 1958, however, he was again deputy prime minister in Phoui Sananikone's cabinet , as well as defense and interior ministers. He died of natural causes the following year. A monument erected in his hometown Pakse was removed after 1975, but the stupa with its ashes still dominates the entrance area of ​​the local Wat Luang .

Works

As a propagandist for the Lao Issara he was extremely active under the pseudonym Arsène Lapin . He also wrote some shorter texts on the history and culture of the country, as well as some short stories, in Lao.

• Contribution à l'Histoire du Mouvement d'Indépendence National Lao , 1948

literature

• Martin Stuart-Fox : Historical Dictionary of Laos. 2nd edition, Plymouth, 2008, ISBN 978-0-8108-5624-0 , entry Katay Don Sasorith , p. 148.