conflict souvanna phouma
Prince Souvanna Phouma ( 7 October 1901 -- 10 January 1984 ) was the leader of the neutralist faction and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Laos several times from 1951 -- 1954 , 1956 -- 1958 , 1960 and 1962 -- 1975 . The Kingdom of Laos was a constitutional monarchy that ruled Laos beginning with its independence on 9 November 1953 . The monarchy survived until December 1975 , when its last king , Savang Vatthana , surrendered the throne to the Pathet Lao , who abolished the monarchy in favor of a Marxist state called the Lao People ' s Democratic Republic , which has controlled Laos since . Laos , (, , or , " Lo ") officially the Lao People ' s Democratic Republic , ( Lao :          , " Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao ") or commonly referred to its colloquial name of Muang Lao ( Lao :    , " Muang Lao ") is a landlocked country in the heart of the Indochinese peninsula of Mainland Southeast Asia , bordered by Myanmar ( Burma ) and China to the northwest , ___MASK25___ to the east , Cambodia to the southwest , and Thailand to the west and southwest . The Pathet Lao ( Lao :  , " Lao Nation ") was a communist political movement and organization in Laos , formed in the mid - 20th century . The group was ultimately successful in assuming political power in 1975 , after the ___MASK92___ . The Pathet Lao were always closely associated with Vietnamese communists . During the civil war , it was effectively organized , equipped and even led by the Army of North ___MASK25___ . They fought against the anti - communist forces in the ___MASK67___ . Eventually , the term became the generic name for Laotian communists .