Overview
Thongloun Sisoulith (; born 10 November 1945) is a Lao historian and politician serving as General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party since 15 January 2021 and President of Laos since 22 March 2021.
Thongloun was born and educated in Houaphan province, before receiving education in Leningrad and Moscow in the Soviet Union. During the Laotian Civil War, he supported the Pathet Lao as a teacher. He then became the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1987 which lasted to 1992, where he then served in numerous other posts in government. In 2001, he became the Deputy Prime Minister of Laos before becoming the Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2006. Described as a 'moderate' by the U.S embassy in Vientiane, Thongloun helped improve Laos-United States relations, which was welcomed in 2009 by Senator Jim Webb and in 2010 by Hillary Clinton; while also improving Laos' relationship with China and Vietnam. In 2016, he became the Prime-minister of Laos where he undertook anti-corruption campaigns. He then became the General Secretary of the LPRP and the President in 2021.
Early life and education
Thongloun Sisoulith was born in the Houaphan province of Laos on 10 November 1945 in the Kingdom of Laos when it was under French control. He went on to study at Pedagogical College of Neo Lao Hak Sat in Houaphan from 1962 to 1969. He was further educated in the Soviet Union and Vietnam. In addition to Lao, he speaks Vietnamese, Russian and English. After finishing graduating, he received a doctor of philosophy in history and a master of arts. From 1973 to 1978, Thongloun studied a Master of Linguistics and Literature at the Gerzen Pedagogy Institute in Leningrad, Soviet Union. Then from 1981 to 1984, he studied a PhD in History of International Relations at the Academy of Social Sciences in Moscow.
Teaching career
During the Laotian Civil War, Thongloun served with the Communist Pathet Lao as a teacher. From 1967 to 1969, Thoungloun served in Educational Department of the Neo Lao Hak Sat as a senior member, before in 1969 he became a member of the Office of the Representative of the Neo Lao Hak Sat in Hanoi, North Vietnam. He then returned to and from 1978 to 1979, where he served as a lecturer at the National University of Laos following the Communist takeover of Vientiane in 1975. He also headed the Russian language programme at the university.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).