Nominator Bounnhang Vorachit Term length Five years | Appointer National Assembly Formation 15 September 1945 | |
 | ||
Inaugural holder Prince Phetsarath Ratanavongsa | ||
The Prime Minister of the Lao People's Democratic Republic is the head of government of Laos. It is the highest office within the Central Government.
Contents
Powers
Throughout its history the office of Prime Minister has been responsible, at least in theory but not always in practice, for handling Laos's internal policies. Since Laos is a one-party state with the Lao People's Revolutionary Party being the sole party allowed by the constitution, all the prime ministers of the People's Democratic Republic have been members of the party while holding office.
The current prime minister is Thongloun Sisoulith, since 20 April 2016. He is second-ranked in the Political Bureau (Politburo).
The Prime Minister is elected by the proposal of the President of Laos to the National Assembly and is responsible to the National Assembly, which elects all ministers to government. Activity reports by the Prime Minister must be given to the National Assembly, while the Standing Committee of the National Assembly supervises the activities of the Central Government and the Prime Minister. Finally, the deputies of the National Assembly have the right to question the Prime Minister and other members of government.
Office
The Office of the Prime Minister of the People's Democratic Republic traces its lineage back to Kaysone Phomvihane, the first Prime Minister of the People's Democratic Republic. The predecessor office to the Prime Minister of the People's Democratic Republic was the Prime Minister of the former Kingdom of Laos. There have been 7 prime ministers of the People's Democratic Republic, but there have been 17 prime ministers of Laos if the prime ministers of the Kingdom of Laos are counted.
Key
Kingdom of Laos (1945–1975)
Between December 1959 to December 1960, Laos had six different Prime Ministers, who were ousted by six successive political coups.