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King Sisavang Vong
King of the Kingdom of Laos
Reign	28 April 1904 – 20 October 1945 23 April 1946 – 20 October 1959
Born	14 July 1885(1885-07-14)
	Luang Phrabang, Laos
Died	29 October 1959 (aged 74)
	Luang Phrabang, Laos
Predecessor	Zakarine
Successor	Savang Vatthana
Royal House	Luang Phrabang
Father	Zakarine
Mother	Thongsy

Sisavang Vong (or Sisavangvong) (14 July 1885 - 29 October 1959), King of Laos, was born at Luang Phrabang, on July 14, 1885. His father was Zakarine, King of Luang Phrabang and his mother was Queen Thongsy.He was the first king of the Kingdom of Laos and the last King of Luang Phrabang.

He was born at Luang Phrabang, on July 14, 1885.He was educated at Lycée Chasseloup-Laubat, Saigon and l'École Coloniale, Paris. He was known as a "playboy" king. He had up to 50 children by as many as 15 wives, two of whom were his half sisters[1] and one of whom was a niece. Fourteen of the children would die in the Mekong after a boating accident.

His wives included:

• Princess Kamuni (1885-1915), daughter of Prince Ko and Princess Duangbadani
• Kham-Phane (1896-1983), his half sister by his father's wife Mom La; they had no children
• Kham-La, a commoner
• Kham-Bua, a commoner
• Kham-tip, a commoner
• Princess Kham-Toun of Luang Prabang, his half sister (one son)
• Princess Kamaduni of the Vang Hnaxxs family
• Kam-phew, a commoner
• Princess Indrakama, a daughter of Prince Jayasena, Prince Sri Dibudinha and his wife, Pong
• Princess Kamuni
• Princess Kham-phew, the daughter of his half-brother
• Chansy (1900-1984), a commoner

He succeeded his father as King of Luang Prabang after the death of his father, 26th March 1904. Luang Phrabang was then a French protectorate within French Indochina. He ascended the throne, at the old Royal Palace, Luang Prabang, 15th April 1904, and was crowned there, 4th March 1905. Under his kingdom he had united provinces Houaphan, 1931; Houakhong; Xiengkhouang and Vientiane, 1942; Champassak and Sayboury, 1946.

He was a lifelong supporter of French rule in Laos, and in 1945 he refused to cooperate with Lao nationalists and he was desposed as king, while the Laos Issa declared the country independent. In April 1946, the French took over once again and Sisavang Vong was reinstated as king (the first time a Lao monarch actually ruled all of what is today called Laos).

Statue of Sīsavāngvong, King of Luang Phrabāng 1904-46, King of Laos 1946-59 (Grounds of the Royal Palace Museum, Luang Phrabāng)

When Laos achieved independence from France, the king of Luang Prabang, Sisavang Vong, became the head of state for the Kingdom of Laos. In 1949 the French rewarded him by creating the Kingdom of Laos with Sisavangvong as King. In 1954 he celebrated his Golden Jubilee, becoming the longest-reigning king in Asia until King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, who surpassed his reign in 2001. In the 1950's US President Eisenhower, as a sign of peace, gave him an RLAF Aero Commander 520 for his displacement.

When he became ill, he made his son Crown Prince Savang Vatthana regent. His son King Savang Vatthana succeeded him on his death in 1959. He became one of the longest-serving monarchs, serving for a period of 55 years. He was buried in Wat That Luang, and during his funeral procession he was transported by the royal funeral carriage, a 12-meter-high wooden hearse with a carved seven-headed serpent.

Sisavangvong University was named in his honor, but was abolished in 1975 when the communists took power in Laos.

Because he presided over independence from the French Union, statues of him survived the communist revolution and remain in Luang Prabang and Vientiane. Both statues depict him in the act of bestowing a constitution upon the people.

• Monarchs of Laos