Prince Boun Oum (also Prince Boun Oum

Na Champassak The House of Champassak or the Na Champassak family (; , ) was an important Lao royal house, descendants of Kham Souk of Champasak, Chao Yuttithammathon (Kham Souk), the 11th King of the Kingdom of Champassak whose prominent members include Prince ...

; ; ; ; 2 December 1911 – 17 March 1980) was the son of King Ratsadanay, and was the hereditary prince of Champassak and also Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Laos from March 1949 to February 1950 and again from December 1960 to June 1962.

Early life

He was born in Don Talad in 1911, the eldest son of Prince Ratsadanay, Prince of Champassak by his fourth wife, Princess Sudhi Saramuni. He was educated at Wat Liep Monastery Sch. and l'École de Droit,

Vientiane Vientiane (, ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Laos. Situated on the banks of the Mekong, Mekong River at the Thailand, Thai border, it comprises the five urban districts of Vientiane Prefecture and had a population of 840,000 ...

. He met Mom Bouaphanh Soumpholphakdy of Kengkok and married in 1943. The couple had six sons and three daughters: Prince Keo Champhonesak na Champassak, Prince Saysanasak na Champassak, Prince Keo Halusak na Champassak, Prince Simoungkhounsak na Champassak, Prince Vannahsak na Champassak, Prince Vongdasak na Champassak, Princess Ninhdasak na Champassak, Princess Keosondarasak na Champassak and Princess Keomanisak na Champassak. He had 11 grandchildren. He succeeded on the death of his father as Head of the Princely House of Champassak, June 1946. At the same time, he renounced his rights in order to establish a unified kingdom, the

Kingdom of Laos The Kingdom of Laos was the form of government in Laos from 1947 to 1975. Located in Southeast Asia at the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula, it was bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, North Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the sou ...

, on 27 August 1946. He was appointed the President of the Royal Council in 1947. In 1949, he was appointed Inspector-General of the Kingdom.

Prime Minister of Laos

Sympathetic to the French in

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

, he commanded a force of 15,000 that fought Japanese troops and the Lao Issara in the south of Laos. Titular leader of the royalist faction (and one of the Three Princes of the Kingdom of Laos), he served as Prime Minister of the

from March 1949 to February 1950 and again from December 1960 to June 1962 when The National Assembly installed him by unanimous vote. He retired from politics to pursue business interests from his base in

Pakse Pakse (or ''Pakxe''; French: ''Paksé''; Laotian: ປາກເຊ 'mouth of the river') is the capital and most populous city of the southern Laotian province of Champasak. Located at the confluence of the Xe Don and Mekong Rivers, the distri ...

and Champassak but continued to be a major power broker until his exile in 1975, the year the communist

Pathet Lao The Pathet Lao (), officially the Lao People's Liberation Army, was a communist political movement and political organization, organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group ultimately gained control over the entire country of ...

came to power. In 1975 he went to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

for medical treatment and never returned to Laos. He died in

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris ...

, France in 1980 and his ashes are buried at the Cimetiere de Trivaux in

Meudon Meudon () is a French Communes of France, commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, on the left bank of the Seine. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of P ...

France, next to his wife Princess Bouaphanh na Champassak (1920–2013).

Honours

National honours

* Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Million Elephants and the White Parasol. * Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Laos. * Commander of the Order of Civic Merit of Laos.

Foreign honours

* Knight Grand Cordon of the

Order of the White Elephant __NOTOC__ The Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant (; ) is an order (decoration), order of Thailand. It was established in 1861 by King Mongkut, Rama IV of the Thailand, Kingdom of Siam. Along with the Order of the Crown of Thailand, it is r ...

, Thailand pecial class * Grand Officer of the Royal Order of Cambodia. * Commander of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

. *

Combatant's Cross The Combatant's Cross () is a French decoration that recognizes, as its name implies, those who fought in combat for France. The Poilus (French combat soldiers) of World War I worked toward recognition by the government, of a special status to t ...

(1940). *

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

ith palm and star(1941). *

Medal of French Gratitude The Medal of French Gratitude () was a French honour medal created on 13 July 1917 and solely awarded to civilians. The medal was created to express gratitude by the French government to all those who, without legal or military obligation, had ...

st class(1946). *

Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 Croix (French for "cross") may refer to: Belgium * Croix-lez-Rouveroy, a village in municipality of Estinnes in the province of Hainaut France * Croix, Nord, in the Nord department * Croix, Territoire de Belfort, in the Territoire de Belfort d ...

(1946). * Indochina Campaign commemorative medal (1954). * Resistance Medal nd class(1945).

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oum, Boun 1912 births 1980 deaths Boun Oum Laotian anti-communists People of the Vietnam War Prime ministers of Laos Pretenders Laotian exiles Commanders of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) People from Champasak province Recipients of the Medal of French Gratitude