BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Thongloun Sisoulith, general secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee and president of Laos, will pay a state visit to China from June 2 to 6 at the invitation of Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president.
Born in Houaphanh Province in northern Laos in 1945, Thongloun went to the Soviet Union twice to pursue his studies, earning a master's degree in arts and a doctorate in history.
From 1985 to 1997, Thongloun successively served as director of the Public Research Department of the Prime Minister's Office, deputy minister of foreign affairs, and minister of labor and social welfare.
From 1997 to 2016, Thongloun successively served as a member of the Standing Committee of the Lao National Assembly, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, deputy prime minister and chairman of the State Planning Committee, deputy prime minister and head of the LPRP Central Committee's commission for external relations, and minister of foreign affairs.
From 2016 to 2021, Thongloun served as prime minister.
From 2021 to 2026, Thongloun served as Lao president. In March 2026, he was re-elected president at the first session of the 10th Lao National Assembly.
Thongloun has been a member of the Fourth through Twelfth Central Committees of the LPRP and has served on the Politburo of the LPRP Central Committee from the Seventh through the Twelfth terms.
In January 2021, Thongloun was elected general secretary of the LPRP Central Committee at the Eleventh National Congress of the LPRP and re-elected at the Twelfth National Congress of the LPRP in January 2026. ■
