GOVERNMENT
The only legal political party is the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP). The head of state is President Choummaly Sayasone. The head of government is Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh. Government policies are determined by the party through the all-powerful eleven-member Politburo and the 55-member Central Committee. Important government decisions are vetted by the Politburo.
Laos adopted its Constitution in 1991, amending it most recently in 2003. The National Assembly, which has added seats at every election, approves all new laws, although the executive branch retains the authority to issue binding decrees. The most recent elections took place in June 2006, when the National Assembly was expanded to 115 members. Laos has enacted a number of new laws in recent years, but the country is still governed largely through the issuance of decrees.
Since the end of the Indochina conflict, a low-level insurgency against the regime has continued. Incidents have included a series of bombings in Vientiane during the summer of 2000 and renewed spikes of violence in 2003 and 2004 against various types of land transportation and public markets. There were reports of continued fighting in 2005 and 2007. In late 2006 and 2007, several hundred former fighters and family members surrendered to Lao authorities. The United States does not endorse or support violent activities carried out against the Lao Government.
Principal
Government Officials
President--Choummaly Sayasone
Prime Minister--Bouasone Bouphavanh
Ambassador to the U.S.--Phiane Philakone
Permanent Representative to the UN--Kanika Phommachanh
Laos
maintains an embassy
in the United States at 2222 S Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20009
(tel: 202-332-6416).
Government Type: Communist state.
Branches: Executive--president (head of state); Chairman,
Council of Ministers (prime minister and head of government);
nine-member Politburo; 49-member Central Committee. Legislative--109-seat
National Assembly. Judicial--district, provincial, and a national
Supreme Court.
Political parties: Lao People's Revolutionary Party
(LPRP)--only legal party.
Administrative subdivisions: 16 provinces, one special
region, and Vientiane prefecture.
Flag: A red band at the top and bottom with a larger
blue band between them; a large white circle is centered.
