ABSTRACT
The People’s Democratic Republic of Laos was established on 2 December 1975 in succession to the Kingdom of Laos. The political change was effected by the ruling Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP), which had been created in the 1950s as a virtual branch of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The party had assumed power progressively during 1975 as a direct consequence of Communist victories in Cambodia and Vietnam in April that year. It has ruled Laos continuously with close reference to the changing priorities of its senior fraternal partner in Hanoi. While maintaining this relationship, China has had an increasing influence on the party’s decisions.
