President of Laos

For the de facto leader of Laos, see General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party.
President of the Lao People's Democratic Republic

Incumbent
Bounnhang Vorachith
since 20 April 2016
Appointer National Assembly
Term length Five years
Inaugural holder Prince Souphanouvong
Formation 2 December 1975
Deputy Vice President of Laos
Laos
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Laos
Constitution

The President of the Lao People's Democratic Republic is the head of state of Laos.

Powers

The president represents Laos internally and externally, supervises the work as well as preserving the stability of the national governmental system and safeguards the independence and territorial integrity of the country. The President appoints the prime minister, vice president, ministers and other officials with the consent of the National Assembly.

The head of state is the commander-in-chief of the Lao People's Army. Since Laos is a one-party state, with the Lao People's Revolutionary Party being the sole party allowed by the constitution, all the presidents of the People's Democratic Republic have been members of the party while holding office.

The current president is Bounnhang Vorachit, since 20 April 2016. He is also the General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, making him ranked first in the Politburo hierarchy.

Office

The office of the President of the People's Democratic Republic traces its lineage back to Prince Souphanouvong, the first President of the People's Democratic Republic, a member of the deposed royal family, who became President when the former Kingdom of Laos was overthrow by the Pathet Lao in 1975, at the end of the Laotian Civil War.

Key

Political parties

List of Presidents of Laos (1975–present)

No. Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)		 Term of Office Political Party
Took Office Left Office Time in Office
1 Souphanouvong
(1909–1995)		 2 December 1975 15 August 1991 15 years, 256 days Lao People's Revolutionary Party
— Phoumi Vongvichit
(1909–1994)
Acting President
(for Souphanouvong)		 31 October 1986 15 August 1991 4 years, 288 days Lao People's Revolutionary Party
2 Kaysone Phomvihane
(1920–1992)		 15 August 1991 21 November 1992 1 year, 98 days Lao People's Revolutionary Party
3 Nouhak Phoumsavanh
(1910–2008)		 25 November 1992 24 February 1998 5 years, 91 days Lao People's Revolutionary Party
4 Khamtai Siphandon
(1924–)		 24 February 1998 8 June 2006 8 years, 104 days Lao People's Revolutionary Party
5 Choummaly Sayasone
(1936–)		 8 June 2006 20 April 2016 9 years, 317 days Lao People's Revolutionary Party
6 Bounnhang Vorachith
(1938–)		 20 April 2016 Incumbent 239 days Lao People's Revolutionary Party

Living former presidents

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Presidents of Laos.

See also

References

    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/9/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.