Lao People's Revolutionary Party

Lao People's Revolutionary Party

ພັກປະຊາຊົນປະຕິວັດລາວ
Lao People's Revolutionary Party ພັກປະຊາຊົນປະຕິວັດລາວ
General Secretary	Thongloun Sisoulith
Standing Member	Bounthong Chitmany
Founded	22 March 1955
Split from	Indochinese Communist Party
Headquarters	Vientiane
Newspaper	Pasaxon
Youth wing	Lao People's Revolutionary Youth Union
Armed wing	Lao People's Armed Forces
Membership (2021)	348,686
Ideology	Communism; Marxism–Leninism; Kaysone Phomvihane Thought;
Political position	Far-left
National affiliation	Lao Front for National Development
International affiliation	IMCWP
National Assembly	158 / 164
Party flag
Website
	www.pccob.gov.la
	Politics of Laos; Political parties; Elections;

The Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP)^[a] is the founding and sole ruling party of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. The party's monopoly on state power is guaranteed by Article 3 of the Constitution of Laos, and it maintains a unitary state with centralised control over the economy and military.

The LPRP was established on 22 March 1955 by former members of the Indochinese Communist Party. It led the insurgency against the Royal Lao Government and supported North Vietnamese forces in the Vietnam War. The insurgency culminated with the LPRP seizing power in Laos in 1975. During its first years in power, the party strengthened party-state control over society and tried to establish a planned economy based on the Soviet model. In the 1980s, influenced by market reforms in China and Vietnam, the LPRP initiated economic reforms that privatised state companies and legalised private property.

Democratic centralism, a concept conceived by Russian Marxist Vladimir Lenin, is the organisational form of the LPRP. The highest institution of the party is the National Congress, which elects the Central Committee. In between party congresses, the Central Committee is the highest decision-making organ regarding party affairs. After a party congress, the Central Committee elects the Politburo and Secretariat, as well as the General Secretary, the highest party officer. In between sessions of the Central Committee, the Politburo is the highest decision-making body. As of 2021^[update], the 11th Politburo comprises 13 members. The current party leader is Thongloun Sisoulith, who holds the titles of General Secretary of the Central Committee, Chairman of the Defence and Public Security Commission, and Prime Minister of Laos, who is the head of government.

The LPRP is committed to communism and participates in the International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties, an annual international forum of communist parties. According to the party statute, the party adheres to Marxism–Leninism and Kaysone Phomvihane Thought. Upon taking power in 1975, the party sought to immediately abolish the capitalist mode of production and establish a socialist society. By the 1990s, the direction of the party had changed, and the party leadership believed that Laos was too underdeveloped to build socialism. The party thus adopted state capitalism as a tool for working towards a socialist society.

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