born Dec. 13, 1920, Na Seng, Laos
died Nov. 21, 1992, Vientiane
Laotian revolutionary, prime minister (1975–91), and president (1991–92).
Son of a Lao mother and a Vietnamese father, Kaysone met Ho Chi Minh while studying law in Hanoi and returned to Laos to become the leader of the Pathet Lao, an anti-French revolutionary movement. In 1975 the Pathet Lao overthrew Laos's 600-year-old monarchy, and Kaysone became prime minister of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. He kept the country closely allied with Vietnam and isolated from Western influence until the end of the Cold War, when he first looked to France and Japan for financial aid. As president, he relaxed some government controls and released most political prisoners.