Xaysomphone Phomvihane, who had served as president of Laos’s National Assembly since March 2021, died of vasculitis on Aug. 8, 2026, at 69, Vientiane Times reported.
Xaysomphone served as deputy governor and then governor of Savannakhet Province from 1989 to 1995 while heading its Department of Trade and Foreign Economic Relations. As Laos’s finance minister from 1995 to 1997, he represented the country at the 1995 annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, where he discussed Laos’s need for international financial support for development.
After those national economic roles, lawmakers elected him president of Laos’s ninth National Assembly on March 22, 2021. During his presidency, the Assembly adopted an amended Law on Investment Promotion on June 28, 2024, in a resolution he signed.
During Laos’s 2024 chairmanship, Xaysomphone became president of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, a regional parliamentary body. In October 2024, he presided over the body’s 45th General Assembly in Vientiane.
At the inaugural session of Laos’s 10th National Assembly in March 2026, lawmakers re-elected Xaysomphone president with 100 percent approval. The Assembly also adopted 20 resolutions, including a five-year socioeconomic plan and legislative priorities.
