Parliament of the Kingdom of Laos

The Parliament of the Kingdom of Laos was the bicameral legislature of the Kingdom of Laos from 1947 to 1975. It consisted of the National Assembly, whose members were popularly elected, and the Royal Council, whose members were appointed by the King or elected by the National Assembly.^[2] The last elections to the National Assembly took place in 1972.

Parliament of the Kingdom of Laos
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	Royal Council and National Assembly
History
Founded	November 1947[1]
Disbanded	2 December 1975
Succeeded by	Supreme People's Assembly of Lao PDR
Elections
Last National Assembly election	1972
Meeting place
Vientiane

Royal Council

The Royal Council or King's Council, Thipuksa Phramahakaxat, reviewed the legislations approved by the National Assembly. It had 12 appointed members. Six members were appointed by the King of Laos and six were nominated by the National Assembly.^[3] The President of the council was the presiding officer. The chamber was responsible for scrutinizing bills approved by the National Assembly, and advising the King on the approval of the bills.^[4]

President	Took office	Left office	Notes
Prince Boun Oum	1947	1949	[4][5]
Kou Abhay	1949	1953 or later	[4][6]
Phaya Khammao Vilay (1892–1965)	1955		[4]
Kou Abhay	1956 or earlier	1960	[7]
Phaya Muong Sen	1961 or earlier	1961 or later
Outhong Souvannavong (1907-1996)	1965	1975	[8][9]
Prince Khammao (1911–1984)	1975	1975	[10]

National Assembly

The National Assembly (Lao: ສພາແຫ່ງຊາຕ, romanized: Sapha Heng Xat) had 60 members elected in popular elections. The legislative term was five years. The President of the National Assembly was the presiding officer.^[3] According to the Constitution of the Kingdom of Laos, National Assembly was the supreme legislative body.^[4]

President	Took office	Left office	Notes
Phoui Sananikone	1947	1950	[4][11]
Phao Panya	1950	1951	[11]
Kou Voravong	1951	1954	[4]
Pheng Phongsavan	1955	1956	[12]
Souphanouvong	1958	1959	[13]
Pheng Phongsavan	1959	1959	[12]
Souvanna Phouma	May 1960	August 1960	[14][15]
Somsanith Vongkotrattana	1961	1963	[4]
Phoui Sananikone	1963	1965	[16]
Oudom Souvannavong	1966	1967	[16]
Phoui Sananikone	1968	1974	[4][14]

See also

• Kingdom of Laos
• List of legislatures by country

References

1. "Laos - The Kingdom of Laos". countrystudies.us.
2. Laos Inter-Parliamentary Union
3. http://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/LAOS_1972_E.PDF ^{[bare URL PDF]}
4. Stuart-Fox, Martin (2008). Historical Dictionary of Laos. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-5624-0.
5. "The chronological history of Laos: Part 2 [1900-1955]". Capitol Hill.
6. "Chroniques d'Outre-Mer; Études et Informations". February 1953.
7. "Laos - THE FIRST COALITION - Renewed Negotiations". countrystudies.us.
8. Service, United States Foreign Broadcast Information (November 20, 1972). "Daily Report: People's Republic of China". National Technical Information Service – via Google Books.
9. Services, United States Dept of State Office of Media (November 20, 1975). Countries of the World and Their Leaders. Gale Research Company. ISBN 9780810310469 – via Google Books.
10. "Translations on South and East Asia". Joint Publications Research Service – via Google Books.
11. Goscha, Christopher. "Historical Dictionary of the Indochina War (1945–1954)" (PDF). NIAS Press.
12. "Translations on South and East Asia". Joint Publications Research Service – via Google Books.
13. "Laos - The 1958 Elections". countrystudies.us.
14. Lentz, Harris M. (February 4, 2014). Heads of States and Governments Since 1945. Routledge. ISBN 9781134264902 – via Google Books.
15. "Laos - The Army Enters Politics". countrystudies.us.
16. "Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XXVIII, Laos - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov.