1.
Emblem of Laos
–
The National Emblem of the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic shows the national shrine Pha That Luang. A dam is pictured which as a symbol of generation at the reservoir Nam Ngun. In the lower part is a section of a gear wheel, the inscription on the left reads Peace, Independence, Democracy and on the right, Unity and Prosperity The coat of arms was modified in August 1991 in relation to the fall of the Soviet Union. The Communist red star and hammer and sickle were replaced with the shrine at Pha That Luang. A picture of Pha That Luang Pagoda is located between the tips of the stalks of rice, a road, a paddy field, a forest and a hydroelectric dam are depicted in the middle of the circle
2.
Thongloun Sisoulith
–
Thongloun Sisoulith is a Laotian politician who has been Prime Minister of Laos since 2016. Previously he was Deputy Prime Minister from 2001 to 2016, as well as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2006 to 2016 and he is a politburo member of the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party, ranking fourth. He was chosen to become Prime Minister of Laos at the 10th Party Congress on January 23,2016, Sisoulith was born in the Houaphan province of Laos, and he studied at Pedagogical College of Neo Lao Hak Sat in Houaphan from 1962 to 1969. He was further educated in the Soviet Union, in addition to Lao, he speaks Vietnamese, Russian and English. Throughout his years in government he has an extensive list of appointments and he was Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1987 to 1992, Minister of Labour and Social Welfare from 1993 to 1997, and a member of the National Assembly from 1998 to 2000. He became Deputy Prime Minister and President of the State Planning Committee on March 27,2001, world Economic forum biography United Nations biography
3.
National Assembly (Laos)
–
The National Assembly is the unicameral parliament of Laos. The National Assembly meets in Vientiane, Laos is a one-party state, with the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party as the sole legal party in the country. Most of the National Assemblys actions simply rubber stamp the partys decisions, efforts have been made to increase the capacity of its members, aiming to strengthen their legislative, oversight, and representational capacities. The National Assembly was established in its current form by the Lao Constitution of 1991, after the December 1997 elections, the number of seats were increased to 99, a new structure was announced and Samane Vignaket was elected as its president. The last elections were held on March 20th,2016, the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party took 144 seats in the enlarged 149-member National Assembly while the five remaining seats went to independents. Nearly 73% of members were elected to the National Assembly for the first time, during the election campaign, many candidates focused on development, promising to serve the interests of the nation and the people
4.
Term of office
–
A term of office is the length of time a person serves in a particular elected office. In many jurisdictions there is a limit on how long terms of office may be before the officeholder must be subject to re-election. Some jurisdictions exercise term limits, setting a number of terms an individual may hold in a particular office. Being the origin of the Westminster system, aspects of the United Kingdoms system of government are replicated in other countries. The monarch serves as head of state until his or her death or abdication, in the United Kingdom Members of Parliament in the House of Commons are elected for the duration of the parliament. Following dissolution of the Parliament, an election is held which consists of simultaneous elections for all seats. For most MPs this means that their terms of office are identical to the duration of the Parliament, an MP elected in a by-election mid-way through a Parliament, regardless of how long they have occupied the seat, is not exempt from facing re-election at the next general election. The Septennial Act 1715 provided that a Parliament expired seven years after it had been summoned, prior to the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 parliaments had no minimum duration. Parliaments could be dissolved early by the monarch at the Prime Ministers request, the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 mandated that Parliaments should last their full five years. Early dissolution is possible, but under much more limited circumstances. Hereditary peers and life peers retain membership of the House of Lords for life, Lords Spiritual hold membership of the House of Lords until the end of their time as bishops, though a senior bishop may be made a life peer upon the end of their bishopric. The devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are variations on the system of government used at Westminster, the office of the leader of the devolved administrations has no numeric term limit imposed upon it. However, in the case of the Scottish Government and the Welsh Assembly Government there are fixed terms for which the legislatures can sit and this is imposed at four years. Elections may be held before this time but only if no administration can be formed, offices of local government other regional elected officials follow similar rules to the national offices discussed above, with persons elected to fixed terms of a few years. Federal judges have different terms in office, however, the majority of the federal judiciary, Article III judges, such as those of the Supreme Court, courts of appeal, and federal district courts, serve for life. The terms of office for officials in state governments according to the provisions of state constitutions. The term for state governors is four years in all states but Vermont and New Hampshire, the National Conference of State Legislatures reported in January 2007 that among state legislatures,44 states had terms of office for the lower house of the state legislature at two years. Five had terms of office at four years,37 states had terms of office for the upper house of the state legislature at four years
5.
Phetsarath Ratanavongsa
–
Prince Phetsarath Ratanavongsa was the 1st Prime Minister of Laos from 8 April to 20 October 1945, and was the first and last vice-king of the Kingdom of Laos. Phetsarath was born on 19 January 1890 in Luang Prabang, the son of Oupahat Bounkhong and his second wife. One of his brothers was Souvanna Phouma. Bounkongs eleventh wife was the mother of Souphanouvong, Phetsarath went to study at the colonial Lycee Chasseloup Laubat in Saigon and continued on in 1905 to the Lycée Montaigne and to the École coloniale in Paris. He returned to Laos in 1912, married Princess Nhin Kham Venne in 1913, in 1914, he became a clerk at the Office of the French governor in Vientiane. Two years later he was promoted to assistant secretary to the French governor, in 1919 he received the title of Somdeth Chao Ratsaphakhinay, a title held by his father and one of the highest ranks in the country. That same year he was named Director of Indigenous Affairs of Laos operating under the French governor, as the countrys last oupahat, he became a leading figure of modern Laos. He established the system of ranks and titles of the service, promotion and pension plans. Phetsarath reorganized the system of the Buddhist clergy, and established a system of schools for educating monks in Pali. He created the Institute of Law and Administration to train entry level officers who would move up the ladder as Phouxouei, Chao Meuang. He set up rules to reward, reassign, and promote deserving civil servants, Phetsarath played a dominant role in Lao politics before and after the Japanese occupation. He was the leader of the Lao Issara movement and he was the Vice-regent of the Laotian province, beginning in 1941, ascending in prominence under the promises for power from Japan. In 1944 he sent Kathanong Souvannakhily, an officer, to attack Thailand. From 1941-5, Phetsarath attempted to supplant officials in Laos and Vietnam, but in the regions of Vietnam, however Free French forces had already occupied Luang Phrabang and met with the King who assured the French colonials that Laos was still a French protectorate despite the April proclamation. On 10 October, the King dismissed Phetsarath as Prime minister, ten days later, as the French retook control of Laos, Phetsarath fled in April 1946 to Thailand, where he led the Lao Issara government-in-exile. In March 1957, he returned to Vientiane where he received a wild welcome, on 10 April 1957, he travelled to Luang Prabang by car and was received by an enormous crowd of citizens, government officials, and members of the police and the army. On 16 April he paid a call to King Sisavang Vong and was given back his old title of Oupahat of the Kingdom of Laos. In December 1957 he visited Samneua and Phongsaly where Souphanouvong symbolically offered the return of the Pathet Laos two regrouping provinces to the Kingdom of Laos
6.
Laos
–
Present day Laos traces its historic and cultural identity to the kingdom of Lan Xang Hom Khao, which existed for four centuries as one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia. Due to Lan Xangs central geographical location in Southeast Asia, the kingdom was able to become a hub for overland trade. After a period of conflict, Lan Xang broke off into three separate kingdoms— Luang Phabang, Vientiane and Champasak. In 1893, it became a French protectorate, with the three territories uniting to form what is now known as the country of Laos and it briefly gained independence in 1945 after Japanese occupation, but returned to French rule until it was granted autonomy in 1949. Laos became independent in 1953, with a monarchy under Sisavang Vong. Shortly after independence, a civil war ended the monarchy. Laos is a one-party socialist republic and it espouses Marxism and is governed by the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party, in which the party leadership is dominated by military figures. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Vietnam Peoples Army continue to have significant influence in Laos, other large cities include Luang Prabang, Savannakhet, and Pakse. Laos is a country with the politically and culturally dominant Lao people making up approximately 60 percent of the population. Mon-Khmer groups, the Hmong, and other hill tribes, accounting for 40 percent of the population, live in the foothills. It is a member of the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, East Asia Summit, Laos applied for membership of the World Trade Organization in 1997, on 2 February 2013, it was granted full membership. According to the anti-corruption non-governmental organisation Transparency International, Laos remains one of the most corrupt countries in the world and this has deterred foreign investment and created major problems with the rule of law, including the nations ability to enforce contract and business regulation. This has contributed to a third of the population of Laos currently living below the poverty line. Laos has an economy, with one of the lowest annual incomes in the world. In 2014, the country ranked 141st on the Human Development Index, according to the Global Hunger Index, Laos ranks as the 29th hungriest nation in the world out of the list of the 52 nations with the worst hunger situation. Laos has also had a human rights record. In the Lao language, the name is Muang Lao or Pathet Lao. Stone artefacts including Hoabinhian types have been found at sites dating to the Late Pleistocene in northern Laos, archaeological evidence suggests agriculturist society developed during the 4th millennium BC
7.
Politics of Laos
–
The politics of the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic takes place in the framework of a one-party socialist republic. The only legal political party is the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party, the de jure head of state is President Bounnhang Vorachith, who also is LPRP general secretary making him the de facto leader of Laos. The head of government is Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, government policies are determined by the party through the all-powerful nine-member Politburo of the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party and the 49-member Central Committee. Important government decisions are vetted by the Council of Ministers, the FY2000 central government budget plan called for revenue of $180 million and expenditures of $289 million, including capital expenditures of $202 million. Laos first, French-written and monarchical constitution was promulgated on May 11,1947, the revised constitution of May 11,1957, omitted reference to the French Union, though close educational, health and technical ties with the former colonial power persisted. The 1957 document was abrogated on December 3,1975, when a communist Peoples Republic was proclaimed, a new constitution was adopted in 1991 and enshrined a leading role for the LPRP. The following year, elections were held for a new 85-seat National Assembly with members elected by ballot to five-year terms. This National Assembly, which acts as a rubber stamp for the LPRP, approves all new laws. The most recent elections took place in April 2006, the assembly was expanded to 99 members in 1997 and in 2006 elections had 115. In the early 2000s, bomb attacks against the government occurred, coupled with small exchanges of fire, a variety of different groups have claimed responsibility including the Committee for Independence and Democracy in Laos and Lao Citizens Movement for Democracy. The president is elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term, the prime minister and the Council of Ministers are appointed by the president with the approval of the National Assembly for a five-year term. There are also four deputy prime ministers, as of a cabinet reshuffle on June 8,2006, they are Maj. Gen. Douangchay Phichit, Thongloun Sisoulith, Somsavat Lengsavad and Maj. Gen. Asang Laoly. The National Assembly has 132 members, elected for a five-year term, the President of the Peoples Supreme Court is elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the National Assembly Standing Committee. The Vice President of the Peoples Supreme Court and the judges are appointed by the National Assembly Standing Committee, Minister of Home Affairs Prof. Dr. Eksavang Vongvichit, Minister of Public Health Pr
.png)
.svg){kind=small}
