Quinim Pholsena (; 18 November 1915 – 1 April 1963) was a leftist politician and the Foreign Minister of 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 ...

from 1962 to 1963, under Prime Minister

Souvanna Phouma Prince Souvanna Phouma (; 7 October 1901 – 10 January 1984) was the leader of the neutralist faction and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Laos several times (1951–1954, 1956–1958, 1960, and 1962–1975). Early life Souvanna Phouma was the ...

Early life

Pholsena was born 18 November 1915,

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 ...

, Champasak to a

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

merchant father and a Laotian mother. As a teenager Pholsena lived in the household of

and was accepted as the adopted son of their household. With the backing of Prince Souvanna, Pholsena served various high-level administrative ranks in the government, notably as the district officer of Pakse from 1949 to 1952 and then as the governor of

Xam Neua Xam Neua (, , sometimes transcribed as ''Sam Nuea'' or ''Samneua'', literally 'northern swamp'; ), is the capital of Houaphanh Province, Laos. History After fleeing from Phrae, deposed king Phiriya Thepphawong escaped from Northern Thailand to ...

Life in politics

After the coup of 1960, a coalition government was formed between neutralists, communists and rightists on 18 November 1960. On 8 December, Phouma relieved

Kong Le Captain Kong Le (Laotian language, Lao: ກອງແລ; 6 March 1934 – 17 January 2014) was a Laotian Officer (armed forces), military officer and prominent military figure in Laos during the 1960s. He led the premier unit of the Royal Lao ...

from his command, but the next day Kong Le deposed Souvanna Phouma (who flew to

Phnom Penh Phnom Penh is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Cambodia, most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since 1865 and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its political, economic, industr ...

with Prince Boun Om and his other ministers) and Pholsena, then Minister of the Interior, was appointed premier, who was unrecognised. A few days later Phoumi took

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 ...

and installed

Boun Oum Prince Boun Oum (also Prince Boun Oum Na Champassak; ; ; ; 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 Febr ...

as premier. After more than a year of negotiations a coalition government was formed under the leadership of Phouma. Pholsena, who served as interior minister in the three-week-old government, became information minister in August. Then from 1962 to 1963, he served as the foreign minister under the coalition government of Phouma.

Assassination

On April 3, 1963, Pholsena returned home from a party at the King's residence in Vientiane. Pholsena and his wife arrived at their newly renovated villa. As the couple left the car, Quinim mounted the steps and one of the soldiers who was assigned to protect his villa, lance corporal Chy Song, stepped forward and fired from his submachine gun that killed him and seriously wounded his wife, who was wounded in both legs. In his signed confession, Quinim's assassin, Song, charged Quinim with trying to overthrow the government and bribing neutralist officers to defect to the

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 ...

. His funeral was held on 11 April 1963.

Personal life

Pholsena was married to Phayboun. He had at least 11 children: "eldest son Gancho Pholsena, second son Sommano Pholsena, third son Sommad Pholsena, fourth son Sommak Pholsena, fifth son Sompong Pholsena and sixth son Somphone Pholsena, as well as the fourth daughter Khemvieng Pholsena and fifth daughter

Khemmani Pholsena Khemmani Pholsena (; born ?) is a Laos, Lao politician, Minister and Head of the President's Office and a member of the 11th Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, 11th Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party ( ...

." * Third son Sommad Pholsena, current Vice Chairman of

National Assembly of Laos The National Assembly (NA; ) or formally the National Assembly of the Lao People's Democratic Republic () is the highest power organisation of Laos. It is the only branch of government in Laos, and per the principle of unified power, all state ...

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former Minister of Natural Resources and Environme

former Minister of Public Works and Transpo

References

Bibliography