Khampheng Boupha ( lo, ຄຳແພງ ບຸບຜາ; 15 January 1923 – 2011) was a Laotian politician who served as a member of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and President of the Lao Women's Union.

Early life

Khampheng Boupha was born in

Luang Prabang Luang Phabang, ( Lao: ຫລວງພະບາງ/ ຫຼວງພະບາງ) or ''Louangphabang'' (pronounced ), commonly transliterated into Western languages from the pre-1975 Lao spelling ຫຼວງພຣະບາງ (ຣ = silent r) ...

and completed her schooling from there.

Career

Khampheng began her career as a teacher and later took up translation work. From 1946 to 1949, she stayed in Thailand with her husband, a member of the Lao Issara government. A year later, both of them joined the Free Laos Front. She won the May 1958 supplementary elections for Luang Prabang and became a member of the

National Assembly of Laos The National Assembly ( lo, ສະພາແຫ່ງຊາດ, translit=Sapha Heng Xat, french: Assemblée nationale) is the unicameral parliament of Laos. The National Assembly meets in Vientiane. Laos is a one-party state, with the Lao Peopl ...

. It was during this time that the Boupha couple was actively involved with the

Pathet Lao The Pathet Lao ( lo, ປະເທດລາວ, translit=Pa thēt Lāo, translation=Lao Nation), officially the Lao People's Liberation Army, was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The gro ...

communist movement in Vietnam. In 1979, Khampheng became a member of the newly formed

Lao Front for National Development The Lao Front for National Development (LFND; lo, ແນວລາວສ້າງຊາດ, ) is a Laos, Laotian popular front founded in 1979, and led by the Lao People's Revolutionary Party. Its task is to organize Lao people, Laotian mass orga ...

's Standing Committee and three years later was elected to the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party. Owing to health issues, she did not stand for re-election. She also served as president of Lao Women's Union and Secretary of State for Rural Affairs.

Personal life

In 1943, Khampheng married Khamphay Boupha, who served as the Laotian deputy minister of foreign affairs from 1975 to 1985. Kampheng Boupha died in 2011.

References

{{Authority Control 1923 births 2011 deaths 20th-century Laotian women politicians 20th-century Laotian politicians Members of the 2nd Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Members of the 3rd Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Members of the National Assembly of Laos People from Luang Prabang