Sisavang Vong - King of Laos

King of Laos

He succeeded his father as King of Luang Prabang after the death of his father, 25 March 1904. Luang Phrabang was then a French protectorate within French Indochina. He ascended the throne, at the old Royal Palace, Luang Prabang, 15 April 1904, and was crowned there, 4 March 1905. During the early years of his reign, the French built a modern palace for him, the Royal Palace of Luang Prabang for his use of residence. Under his kingdom he had united provinces Houaphan, 1931; Houakhong; Xiengkhouang and Vientiane, 1942; Champassak and Sayboury, 1946.

He was a lifelong supporter of French rule in Laos, and in 1945 he refused to cooperate with Lao nationalists and he was deposed when the Lao Issara declared the country independent. In April 1946, the French took over once again and he was reinstated as king (the first time a Lao monarch actually ruled all of what is today called Laos).

In 1954 he celebrated his Golden Jubilee, becoming the longest-reigning king in Asia until King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, who surpassed his reign in 2001.

When he became ill, he made his son Crown Prince Savang Vatthana regent. His son succeeded him on his death in 1959. He was cremated and buried in That Luang in 1961, and during his funeral procession was transported by the royal funeral carriage, a 12-meter-high wooden hearse with a carved seven-headed serpent. Many representatives were at the state funeral including Prince Bhanubandhu, who represented Thailand.

Sisavangvong University was named in his honor, but was abolished in 1975 when the communists took power in Laos.

Because he presided over independence from the French Union, statues of him survived the communist revolution and remain in Luang Prabang and Vientiane. Both statues depict him in the act of bestowing a constitution upon the people.