Lao National Progressive Party
라오스 국민진보당
A party of the Kingdom of Laos founded in 1950 by Xieng Mao, Souvanna Phouma and Katay Don Sasorith, all former members of the Lao Issara. It won the National Assembly elections of 1951 and 1955, and its leader Souvanna Phouma became prime minister. It dissolved after the 1958 election when it merged with the Independent Party to form the Lao People’s Rally.
In depth
According to the English source, the National Progressive Party was founded in 1950 by former Lao Issara members Xieng Mao, Souvanna Phouma and Katay Don Sasorith; the French source likewise describes it as a Lao party founded in 1950. In the National Assembly elections of August 1951 it won 19 of 39 seats, considered a landslide, and in 1955 it won 23 of 39. The article on Souvanna Phouma gives the 1951 result as 15 seats, so the sources differ. The party’s leader Souvanna Phouma became prime minister in 1951 and held office until 1954.
After its defeat in the supplementary elections of 1958, the party dissolved in June that year when it merged with the Independent Party to form the Lao People’s Rally. The new party held 36 seats, and one of its leaders, Phoui Sananikone, became prime minister in August 1958. The Lao People’s Rally fell to 17 seats in the 1960 elections, and by the time Souvanna Phouma became its leader it was effectively defunct.