Laos Declares National Mourning for Late Parliament Speaker

The Lao government has declared a five-day national mourning period to honour Xaysomphone Phomvihane, the chairman of the National Assembly who passed away on Saturday morning. The 70-year-old politburo member of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party died from vasculitis, an autoimmune disease. A joint statement issued by the party, parliament, government, and family announced that the national mourning period would commence on Sunday. The official funeral ceremony will be held in the capital, Vientiane, on 13 August. The statesman, who underwent training in Vietnam and the Soviet Union, was praised by the state news agency, Lao News Agency, as an outstanding leader and one of the key figures of the Party Central Committee. He was regarded as a figure of broad knowledge and deep leadership experience across various regional administrations and sectors.