VZCZCXRO0060
RR RUEHCHI
DE RUEHVN #0312/01 0930953
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 030953Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY VIENTIANE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9774
INFO RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 6462
RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI 2616
RUEHGO/AMEMBASSY RANGOON 2066
RUEHPF/AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH 1738
RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI 0323
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 VIENTIANE 000312 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS, INR/B 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/03/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL LA
SUBJECT: LAOS' NEW PARTY SECRETARY-GENERAL CHOUMMALY 
SAYASONE 
 
REF: A. VIENTIANE 275 
 
     ¶B. VIENTIANE 306 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Patricia M. Haslach, reason 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) The 8th Party Congress of the Lao People's 
Revolutionary Party (LPRP) elected Choummaly Sayasone as its 
new Secretary-General on March 21.  Choummaly has been a 
fixture in the Central Committee for more than two decades, 
but remains one of the least-known of the senior leaders.  A 
long-time protege of retiring Party Secretary Khamtai 
Siphandone (and Khamtai's hand-picked successor to the 
position), Choummaly can be expected to continue Khamtai's 
conservative policies. 
 
¶2. (U) According to his official biography, Choummaly, an 
ethnic Lao, was born March 6, 1936 in Vat Neau village, 
Saysettha district of Attapeu province, in Laos' far 
south-east.  In 1954 he "joined the revolution," becoming a 
soldier with the Pathet Lao forces who at that time, 
following the end of the French Indochina War, were 
regrouping in the two "liberated" provinces of Houaphanh and 
Phongsaly.  He became a member of the Communist Party on 
December 7, 1955. From 1955 until the establishment of the 
Lao PDR in 1975 he served in a variety of military positions, 
gradually rising through the ranks.  Little is known of his 
service during the war years, although he reportedly spent 
much of his time at the Pathet Lao headquarters of Viengsai, 
in Houaphanh province. 
 
¶3. (U) At the end of the war in 1975, Choummaly became Deputy 
Chief of the Army Chief of Staff, a position he held until 
¶1982.  In that year he was promoted to be Vice Minister of 
Defense, and in 1988 was named First Deputy Defense Minister, 
second only to Minister Khamtai.  In this position he 
reportedly ran the day-to-day affairs of the Ministry. 
Throughout the early post-war period, Choummaly traveled 
widely within the socialist bloc, representing the Lao 
People's Army as he sought aid and assistance from abroad. 
 
¶4. (U) In 1990 Choummaly was promoted to Lieutenant General, 
and the following year was named Minister of Defense, 
replacing General Khamtai, who became Prime Minister.  He 
advanced again in 1998, becoming a Deputy Prime Minister and 
reporting directly to his mentor and patron, the by now 
President Khamtai. In his capacity as Deputy PM, he 
supervised the rural development program, and was a proponent 
of resettlement of ethnic minorities to lowland areas, a 
policy adopted by the Party at the 2001 Seventh Party 
Congress.  In 2002 the National Assembly elected Choummaly 
Vice President, a position he retains. 
 
¶5. (U) Choummaly was first elected a member of the Central 
Committee at the 3rd Party Congress in 1982, in 43rd 
position.  At the 4th Congress in 1986, he jumped to number 
13 on the CC, just short of the Politburo. He entered the 
Politburo at the 1991 5th Congress, at number 7, and by the 
1996 6th Party Congress had reached the number 3 slot, a 
ranking he retained at the 2001 7th Party Congress. 
 
¶6. (C) Choummaly is widely regarded as a protege of retiring 
Party Secretary Khamtai, and his career has largely tracked 
that of the former Party Secretary. Choummaly served close to 
Khamtai during the war years, and was reportedly Khamtai's 
hand-picked successor as Minister of Defense.  His relatively 
rapid rise through the Party ranks is due to the retired 
Secretary-General's patronage. According to Party insiders, 
 
SIPDIS 
his promotion during the 8th Party Congress in March to Party 
Secretary was Khamtai's handiwork as well -- Khamtai agreed 
 
SIPDIS 
to relinquish his position in return, in part, for 
Choummaly's promotion over Politburo number 2 Samane Viyaket 
to become the new Secretary-General. 
 
¶7. (C) Since his 2002 election as Vice President, Choummaly 
has become prominent in Laos' diplomatic circuit, often 
standing in for President Khamtai to receive official state 
visitors and credentials of new Ambassadors. In this capacity 
he met on two occasions with the then U.S. Ambassador.  He 
rarely strayed far from talking points in these meetings, but 
exhibited an engaged personality, with an interest in issues 
outside Laos' borders.  That said, those within the Party do 
not regard him as an innovator; his success has been almost 
entirely due to his close relationship with Khamtai and to 
his unquestioning obedience to the Party.  He has a 
 
VIENTIANE 00000312  002 OF 002 
 
 
reputation as something of a hard liner, in the same vein as 
Khamtai, putting regime security before other concerns.  He 
also reportedly retains Khamtai's close ties to Vietnam, by 
virtue of having served side-by-side with PAVN forces during 
the war and of Vietnam's long tutelage of the Lao Defense 
Ministry after 1975. As Party Secretary he can be expected to 
continue Khamtai's conservative, pro-Vietnam policies. 
 
¶8. (C) On a personal level, Choummaly has a reputation for 
misusing his power. We have heard reports from a variety of 
sources that Choummaly had on occasion used his authority to 
arrogate for himself or his family land and property 
belonging to others.  He is known to own large tracts of 
lands around Vientiane, as well as a number of houses. While 
little is known of his personal life, he has a number of 
children; his oldest, a boy, is about 40. Choummaly speaks 
Vietnamese, and studied political theory in Hanoi. He also 
reportedly studied for a time in the Soviet Union, and may 
speak some Russian. Choummaly's health has reportedly been 
frail in recent years. During 8th Party Congress events, 
however, he appeared in good health. 
HASLACH