kingdom · Mainland Southeast Asia

Kingdom of Laos

1947 CE – 1975 CE · capital Vientiane

The constitutional monarchy of Laos from 1947 to 1975, independent from 1953 and torn apart by civil war between royalists and the Pathet Lao.

Origins

In 1946 France and King Sisavang Vong agreed to unite Luang Phrabang, Vientiane, Champasak and other Lao provinces into a single kingdom, with Prince Boun Oum of Champasak renouncing his claims. A constitution of 1947 made Laos a constitutional monarchy within the French Union, and full independence came in 1953.

The royal capital was Luang Prabang and the administrative capital Vientiane. Neutralist, rightist and communist factions competed, and the Geneva conference of 1962 created a coalition under Souvanna Phouma. The communist Pathet Lao, backed by North Vietnam, controlled the east, through which the Ho Chi Minh Trail ran, and the United States waged a massive secret bombing campaign.

After the Paris accords of 1973 a new coalition government formed, but in 1975 the Pathet Lao took power as communist forces won in Vietnam and Cambodia. King Savang Vatthana abdicated on 2 December 1975, and the Lao People's Democratic Republic was proclaimed.

Cite this page

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Kingdom of Laos. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-laos
MLA: “Kingdom of Laos.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-laos. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Kingdom of Laos.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-laos.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Kingdom of Laos’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-laos (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻