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Lao Issara
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Quick Facts
English:
Free Laos
Date:
1945 - 1949
Areas Of Involvement:
national liberation movement
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Lao Issara

political movement, Laos
Also known as: Free Laos
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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History

Lao Issara, Laotian political movement against French colonial control, founded in 1945. The departure of the Japanese from Laos in 1945 left the Laotian ruling elite divided over the issue of the restoration of French control. The king welcomed the French return, but Prince Phetsarath, the viceroy, and his brothers, Souvanna Phouma and Souphanouvong, were prominent in the noncommunist Lao Issara, which demanded full independence. The granting of limited independence within the French union in 1949 split the Lao Issara, one faction becoming the left-oriented Pathet Lao.