History

For much of its history, Laos has been under the thumb of its neighbours – at various times the Cambodians, Burmese, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Siamese (Thais). The result is that Laos has experienced great difficulty in establishing a national identity.

For 200 years commencing in the early 11th century, Laos formed part of the Khmer Angkor empire. It was during this period that the Lao people, who originated in Thailand, invaded the area and displaced the previously dominant Chinese who were the earliest inhabitants of northern Laos. Following the collapse of the Khmer empire, the independent kingdom of Lan Xang, which dates back to 1349, was established. Populated by a mixture of ethnic Laos, Thais and various hill tribes, the Lan Xang empire lasted for three centuries while fighting off successive invasions from Vietnam, Siam (Thailand) and Burma. However, even at its height the kingdom of Lan Xang probably did not control all of what is today considered to be Laos, especially the mountainous regions. In the early 18th century, Laos was broken up into various kingdoms, including Luang Phrabang, Vientiane, Champasak and Xieng Kouang. Siam exploited internal power struggles in the 18th century and took control of these Kingdoms  in 1778-1779.  

The 19th century was a period of political turmoil in which rival powers with shifting alliances fought for control of the territory. The Siamese were the dominant power until France forced its colonial ambitions on the Siamese and took over all territories east of the Mekong River in 1893. This was followed by the addition of some areas west of the Mekong River in northern and southern Laos in 1904. During the same year, Stung Treng province was transferred to Cambodia, followed by Kontum and Darlac to Annam (Vietnam) in 1905.  It formed part of French Indo-China until 1953, with the exception of the period of Japanese domination via the Vichy Regime during much of World War II, and direct rule by Japan between March and August 1945.
 
Full independence having been achieved in 1953, the country's constitutional monarchy was figuratively under King Sisavang Vong in Luang Phrabang. However, the government of Vientiane was plagued, from the time of independence up to 1975, by political instability, including various military coups and coup attempts, fraudulent elections, failed coalition governments and power struggles involving rightist, neutralist and leftist factions within Laos. The Pathet Lao, headed by the Red Prince, Souphanouvong, was allied with Ho Chi Minh's Viet Minh (later Viet Cong) nationalists in neighbouring Vietnam. They had together worked to expel the French, and later countered US influence in the region. After 1975, the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) was formed, and Lao PDR became dependent on military and economic assistance from Vietnam and the Soviet Bloc. The dominant political figure in the one-party regime following the creation of the Lao PDR was Kaysone Phomvihane, who died in 1991. The present Party Secretary and President of the Lao PDR is Choumaly Sayasanh.

The activities of the country's main opposition movements, the right-wing pro-royalist United Lao National Liberation Front and the United Front for the National Liberation of the Lao People, have been confined to minor armed rebellions from bases among the northern hill tribes since the early 1990s, and at present do not represent a serious threat to the government's hold on power. Although China funded rebel groups in Laos during the 1980s, relations between Laos and China have improved dramatically in recent years, and Laos is now most closely aligned with Vietnam and China.