Phoumi Nosavan

Major General Phoumi Nosavan (ພູມີ ຫນໍ່ສວັນ; 27 January 1920 – 3 November 1985) was a military strongman who was prominent in the history of the Kingdom of Laos; at times, he dominated its political life to the point of being a virtual dictator.

He was born in Savannakhet, the French Protectorate of Laos, on 27 January 1920.

Originally a civil servant in the French colonial administration of Laos, during the last year of World War II he joined the resistance movement against the Japanese occupiers.

As World War II wound down in 1945, he joined the resistance movement opposed to the Japanese occupation of Laos.

He belonged to the secretive Lao Pen Lao (Laos for the Lao).

Exiled from 1946 to early 1949 for his opposition to French return to colonizing Laos, he returned to his native soil to begin a military career in 1950 after the collapse of the anti-French Lao Issara government.

He was also in the short-lived Lao Issara (Free Laos) government until the French return in 1946 drove him into exile in the Kingdom of Thailand.

As part of the Lao Issara command, he briefly ran their military operations in southern Laos in coordination with the Viet Minh.

In early 1949, he returned to Thailand before repatriating himself to Laos.

In 1950, he joined the nascent Armee Nationale Laotienne (Laotian National Army).

He served as a military adviser at the 1954 Geneva Conference.

By 1955, he was Chief of Staff of the brand-new Royal Lao Army.

While in that position, he was largely responsible for appointing senior officers into command positions in the Military Regions of Laos.

By 1955, he had risen to lieutenant colonel, serving as Chief of Staff of the newly constituted Royal Lao Army in the newly independent Kingdom of Laos.

Under Colonel Phoumi, there was a massive appointment of military officers subordinate to him into command positions in the Royal Lao Army.

One of the criteria for these appointments was seniority in the military.

However, the urban elite families had great interest in procuring these command positions; they brought influence to bear to secure appointments for their family members or adherents.

As the families were regionally based, officers from the elite both saw government service as a tool for political advancement, and as another way to command the allegiance of the Lao peasantry in their region.

Following that, in 1957 he was the first Lao officer to be schooled in France at the École de Guerre (War College).

While in France, he became acquainted with Central Intelligence Agency operative John F. "Jack" Hasey.

Phoumi then attended the Ecole de Guerre (War College) in 1957 to 1958; he was the first Lao officer to do so.

He took Siho Lamphouthacoul as his aide de camp.

Phoumi returned to Laos to become a founding member of the Committee for the Defence of National Interests on 17 June 1958.

On 25 December 1959, he took control of the capital of Vientiane and of the nation in a bloodless coup.

Drawing military power from his status as a general officer, and political power from appointment as defense minister, Phoumi would remain a dominant figure in Laotian political life for the next six years.

He would be temporarily removed from power during an August 1960 coup by Captain Kong Le, only to return with a Central Intelligence Agency backed counter-coup in December.

From 1961 to 1963, he carried out military operations contrary to his American advisers' wishes, figuring the U.S. would have to support him regardless.

His American backers periodically curtailed military aid to his forces to compel his compliance, even as the Royal Lao Army's performance deteriorated.

The aftermath to the Battle of Vientiane in early 1961, as well as the disastrous Battle of Luang Namtha in 1962 and the lost Battle of Lak Sao in 1963 illustrated his shortcomings as a military commander.

As Phoumi's influence was whittled away, he attempted to retain power via coups, including one in 1964, and one in 1965.

The 1964 coup being unsuccessful, he was stripped of his troop command.

His final coup attempt in January 1965 was plotted with borrowed troops.

When that bid to regain power failed, he fled into exile in the neighboring Kingdom of Thailand.

He was sentenced in absentia to 20 years imprisonment.

Phoumi Nosavan died in Bangkok, Thailand in November 1985.

Phoumi Nosavan was a prominent Lao military and political figure of the Laotian Civil War.

He was of Chinese-Lao heritage.

He was born in Savannakhet, the French Protectorate of Laos.

He was educated there, and in Vientiane.

He became a civil servant in the French colonial government.