Prince Somsanith Vongkotrattana (; 19 April 1913 – 1975) also known as Tiao Somsanith was the

Prime Minister of Laos The prime minister of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, formerly the chairman of the Council of Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is the head of government of Laos. The prime minister is accountable to the president, the ...

in 1960. He was born in

Luang Prabang Luang Prabang (Lao language, Lao: wikt:ຫຼວງພະບາງ, ຫຼວງພະບາງ, pronounced ), historically known as Xieng Thong (ຊຽງທອງ) and alternatively spelled Luang Phabang or Louangphabang, is the capital of Lu ...

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 ...

. His mother, Princess Sanghiemkham, was one of Prince

Bounkhong Prince Bounkhong was the last uparaja of Luang Phrabang. He was granted the title of '' Chao Ratsaphakhinay'' by King Chulalongkorn of Siam in 1884. From 1911 to 1920, he was a member of the Government Council of French Indochina. Chao Maha Oupa ...

daughters making Prince

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 ...

, Prince

Souphanouvong Prince Souphanouvong (13 July 1909 – 9 January 1995; ), nicknamed the Red Prince, was along with his half-brother Prince Souvanna Phouma and Prince Boun Oum of Champasak (town), Champasak, one of the "Three Princes of the Kingdom of Laos, Three ...

, Prince

Phetsarath Prince Phetsarath Ratanavongsa (''Somdej Chao Maha Uparaja Petsaraj Ratanavongsa ''() (19 January 1890 – 14 October 1959) was the 1st Prime Minister of Luang Phrabang in French Laos from 21 August 1941 to 10 October 1945, and Head of St ...

and Prince

Kindavong Prince Kindavong (; 1900 in Laos – 30 March 1951) was a Laotian politician, prince, and the younger half-brother of Phetsarath Ratanavongsa. During World War II he was secretly sent by King Sisavang Vong to represent Laos to the Allied forces ...

his step uncles. His father was Prince Khamman Vongkotrattana who after a career in government service became a historian. Somsanith was the minister of interior and justice in the

Lao Issara The Lao Issara ( ) was an anti-French nationalist movement formed on 12 October 1945 by Prince Phetsarath. The short-lived movement emerged after the Japanese defeat in World War II and became the government of Laos before the return of the Fr ...

government from 1945 to 1946, and followed the cabinet into exile in Thailand 1946-1949. Following his return to Laos, he was first appointed as Director General of the Laotian National Police, with the rank of Brigadier general (1954–1958),Stuart-Fox, ''Historical Dictionary of Laos'' (2008), p. 314. being afterwards

minister of finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

(1959-1960) and minister of justice. He was appointed as

by the king in June 1960, and his government was overthrown later in 1960. He was elected President of

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

from 1961 to 1963.

References

Bibliography

* Frank E. Walton, ''A Survey of the Laos National Police'', Office of Public Safety, Agency for International Development, Department of State, Washington, D.C., 1965. �

* Joel Halpern, ''Laos Profiles'', Laos project, Paper No. 19, University of Massachusetts – Amherst, 1 June 1961. �

*Martin Stuart-Fox, ''Historical Dictionary of Laos'', Third Edition, Historical Dictionaries of Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East, No. 67, Scarecrow Press, Inc., Lanham, Maryland, Toronto, Plymouth, UK 2008. , 0-8108-5624-7 �

Presidents of the National Assembly of Laos Prime ministers of Laos Finance ministers of Laos 1913 births 1975 deaths Committee for the Defence of National Interests politicians People from Luang Prabang {{Laos-politician-stub