Former Lao President Khamtay Siphanone passes away

The former leader died at 10.30am due to age-related illness, according to an announcement jointly issued by the Party Central Committee, the National Assembly, the government, the Lao Front for National Development, and the Siphandone family.   

The official memorial services will be held at the National Convention Centre in Vientiane.

His funeral will be held on the afternoon of April 7, starting at 1pm at the That Luang esplanade, the national committee-in-charge of the last rites announced.

A five-day nationwide mourning, from April 3 to 7, was declared,  during which all party activities, art and sport competitions and entertainment events are prohibited. During this period, the national and the Party’s flags shall fly at half mast at all offices of the party, state and mass organisations, and administrative offices at all levels, including Lao diplomatic missions abroad.     

In Vientiane, a four-day ceremony to pay homage to the General will be held from April 3 to 6.

Ministries, central agencies, Vientiane capital and the provinces, social organisations, and grassroots units, as well as relatives and people from near and far may organise committees to pay homage to the General’s body from 8.30am to 12pm in the morning, and from 2pm to 5pm in the afternoon.

The General was a senior revolutionary and among the first generation of leaders of the Party that led the Lao people in their revolutionary struggle for national liberation.

During the post-revolutionary period, Chairman Khamtay was among the core leaders of the Party Central Committee that led the Lao people in carrying out the national safeguarding and development tasks.  

“Throughout his life, he has devoted his wisdom and strength to the revolutionary mission of our Party, to the development of the country and the well-being of the Lao multiethnic people,” the Party Central Committee, the National Assembly, the government, the Lao Front for National Development, and the Siphandone family said in the joint announcement.

“The irreparable passing of Comrade General Khamtay Siphandone is the greatest loss for the Party, the State and the Lao multiethnic people.”

Born on February 8, 1924, to a farming family in Khong district, Siphandone province (now Champassack province), President Khamtay was educated in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam. He joined the Indochinese Communist Party as a member in 1953.

In 1972, he was elected as a member of the Politburo—the top decision-making body of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party—at the second Party Congress and became Commander-in-Chief of the Lao People’s Liberation Army.

After the country was liberated in 1975, Gen Khamtay was appointed Vice Chairman of the Ministers Council, Minister of National Defence, and Commander-in-Chief of the Lao People’s Liberation Army.

He became Prime Minister of the Lao PDR in 1991. A year later, he was elected Chairman of the Party Central Committee while continuing to serve as Prime Minister.

In 1998, General Khamtay was elected President of the Lao PDR and retired from the Party and state leadership in 2006.

Jirayu Huangsap, spokesperson for the Thai Prime Minister’s Office, stated that Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has sent a message of condolence to Sonexay Siphandone, Prime Minister of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, on the passing of Gen Khamtay Siphandone, former President of Laos, on April 2, 2025.

Prime Minister Paetongtarn said Gen Khamtay was a key figure in the founding and development of Laos, contributing to its stability and prosperity. He also played a vital role in strengthening Thai-Lao relations and had the honour of welcoming His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great and Her Majesty Queen Sirikit the Queen Mother during their official visit to Laos. This visit laid the foundation for the enduring Thai-Lao cooperation that has lasted for over seven decades.

The Prime Minister and the Thai people extend their deepest condolences to Prime Minister Sonexay, the Siphandone family, and the people of Laos during this time of mourning.