Laos has undergone a major leadership reshuffle, naming former Deputy Prime Minister Saleumxay Kommasith as prime minister and moving outgoing Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone to the presidency of the National Assembly.
The changes were approved on Monday at the second ordinary session of the Lao National Assembly’s 10th legislature.
All 158 lawmakers present voted in favour of Saleumxay’s appointment as prime minister, while Sonexay was elected president of the National Assembly.
The reshuffle follows the death of National Assembly President Xaysomphone Phomvihane on August 8 at the age of 69. Xaysomphone had been re-elected to the post only months earlier, in March, when Laos opened its 10th legislative term.
Saleumxay was born in 1968 in Houaphan Province, Laos. He earned an MA in International Relations from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, where he studied from 1986 to 1992.
He continued his education at Monash University in Australia, earning another MA in International Studies and Development in 1997.
He built a career in diplomacy and foreign relations, holding several positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including serving as Laos’ representative to the United Nations. He became foreign minister in 2016 and deputy prime minister in 2022.
In addition to Lao, he speaks Russian, French and English.
Main photo: Saleumxay Kommasith//AFP
