Souvanna Phouma
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Prince Souvanna Phouma , complete: Khampeng Souvannaphouma Rattanavongsa , also Suvanna Phuma ( Laotian ສຸ ວັນ ນະ ພູ ມາ ; * October 7, 1901 in Luang Phrabang ; † January 10, 1984 in Vientiane ), was a member of the Laotian royal family, which after independence in 1954 until the takeover of power the communist was Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Laos several times in 1975 .
Life
Souvanna Phouma was born the ninth son of Prince Bounkhong, who was Viceroy ( Uparat ) of Luang Prabang . His mother was the Princess Thongsy. Among his half-brothers were the future Prime Ministers Prince Phetsarath and Prince Souvannarath as well as Prince Souphanouvong , who later became known as the head of the communist Pathet Lao and was known as the "Red Prince". He received his education in Hanoi . He studied electrical engineering and engineering in Paris and Grenoble. He returned to Indochina in 1931. Soon after, he married Aline Claire Allard, daughter of a French father and a Laotian mother. From this marriage the daughter Moune was born.
He took up a job as an engineer in the public building administration. His area of responsibility included a. also the reconstruction of Wat Phra Keo in Vientiane, which was destroyed after the Anuvong Rebellion 1827-28 .
1945-1954
In October 1945, when the French colonial powers had not yet completed their reconquest of Indochina, he was involved in the formation of a government by the Lao Issara national liberation movement , in which he took over the office of minister of construction. Before the French approaching Vientiane, he fled into exile with other members of the government in Bangkok in April 1946 . 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 24th and the prince returned to his homeland.
In the newly formed government of Phoui Sananikone , he took over the office of Minister of Construction again until he became Prime Minister in November 1951. His main merit was the achievement of full independence, which was negotiated in October 1953 and achieved after the Indochina Conference in July 1954. Inside he was faced with the counter-government in Sam Neua , which had been formed by the communist-oriented liberation movement Pathet Lao (PL).
1954-1973
After the attempt to regain control of the two PL-controlled provinces of Houaphan and Phongsali failed, and after his defense minister Kou Voravong was assassinated on September 18, 1954, Souvanna Phouma had to resign.
After the elections in December 1955, boycotted by the PL, he succeeded in March 1956 in forming a coalition cabinet that included the Néo-Lao Haksat , the political arm of the PL. The right-wing opposition, supported by US interests, prevented the establishment until November 1957. His neutralist attitude led to the cutting of American aid in July 1958, so that he fell again as prime minister. After this time the country became more and more dependent on the Americans. The armed forces, which were massively expanded, were completely US-funded.
During the subsequent power struggles of the beginning Lao Civil War , Souvanna Phouma was sidelined by being appointed ambassador to France. When he arrived in Paris, one of his suitcases - containing drugs - was intercepted.
After the Kong Les coup d'état in August 1960, he was called home as Prime Minister. Before the advancing right-wing forces of General Phoumi Nosavan , he and his government fled to Khang Kai in December . At that time, his government was only recognized by the states of the socialist bloc. In spring 1961 he visited Moscow, Warsaw and Prague.
The formation of a second neutralist coalition government was negotiated in 1962 at the Geneva negotiations. He was now head of a coalition government made up of neutralists and right-wing American-sponsored groups around Prince Boun Oum of Champasak. At the latest when the alleged neutrality between September 1963 and 1965 proved to be an illusion, he thought of resigning. Souvanna Phouma remained nominally neutralist in office until 1973; in fact, his government only controlled parts of the country, which was increasingly devastated by US bombing, or was under the control of the military, who, like Defense Minister Ouane Rattikone, got rich from drug trafficking.
In 1973 he involved Souphanouvong , his half-brother and Pathet Lao leader, again in a third coalition government in which the left forces soon gained a majority. Under his leadership, the civil war was supposed to end in 1974. After the People's Republic was proclaimed in 1975, he was appointed advisor to the new government. He lived in his house on the Mekong , where the new president often visited him.
The deceased at the age of 83 received a state funeral.
literature
- Autobiography: Souvanna Phouma; Laos autopsy d'une monarchy assassinée; Paris [u. a.] 2010 (Harmattan); ISBN 978-2-296-12274-1
- Martin Stuart-Fox : Historical Dictionary of Laos . (= Historical Dictionaries Of Asia, Oceania, And The Middle East). Plymouth 2008, ISBN 0-8108-5624-7 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ A Fateful Assassination in: Wilfred Burchett; The Furtive War; New York 1963
- ↑ Three governments in two days . In: Die Zeit , No. 51/1960
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Souvanna Phouma |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Khampeng Souvannaphouma Rattanavongsa, Suvanna Phuma |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Laotian politician, Prime Minister of Laos (1951–1954, 1956–1958, 1960 and 1962–1975) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 7, 1901 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Luang Phrabang |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 10, 1984 |
| Place of death | Vientiane |