Somsanith Vongkotrattana

Prince Somsanith Vongkotrattana (born April 19, 1913 in Luang Prabang , † 1975 ) was a Laotian politician and multiple minister between 1946 and 1960.

Life path

Somsanith Vongkotrattana came from a sideline of the Luang Prabang royal family. His father was Prince Khammanh Vongkotrattana , his mother was Princess Sanghiemkham , who later divorced. After completing his training, he entered the service of the French colonial administration and was lord ( chao ) of the district ( meuang ) of Vientiane until 1945.

In the free Lao Issara government formed in 1946 , he was interior minister until October 24, 1949 , also in exile in Bangkok . On his return he was first Minister of Finance in the royal government, then Minister of Justice, succeeding Khammao Vilai .

In 1952 he was appointed governor of Luang Namtha Province . From 1954 he was director general of the police. In Souvanna Phouma's second cabinet , he became State Secretary for Home Affairs, a position he also held in the latter's first coalition government.

In January 1960 he became Minister of the Interior under Kou Abhy . After the rigged elections of April 1960, he became Prime Minister on June 3, 1960. However, he was only seen as a front man for Phoumi Nosavan , the leader of the right in the Lao civil war . He was ousted in the coup d'état by neutralist Captain Kong Le on August 9. From 1961 to 1963 he was speaker of the National Assembly.

In 1973 he was appointed as one of the twelve members of the royal council ( Thipuksā Phramahākaxāt ). He died in 1975.

His son Prince Nithakhong Somsanith (* 1959 (?)) Is considered a gifted artist for traditional gold embroidery .

literature

• Martin Stuart-Fox : Historical Dictionary of Laos. 2nd edition, Plymouth 2008, ISBN 978-0-8108-5624-0 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Mahā Silā Vīravong, Volker Grabowsky ; Prince Phetsarat: a life for Laos. Münster 2003, ISBN 3-8258-6492-8 ; P. 118 fn. 195
2. ↑ cf. Rolf Zundel: Three governments in two days. DIE ZEIT, No. 51, December 16, 1960.
3. ↑ Official Website ( Memento of the original from December 5, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)