[3] Nouhak was subsequently the secretary of the Lao People's Party cell in Vientiane, the capital, and was a member of the National Assembly in 1958.

[citation needed] After Kaysone's death,[2] Nouhak was elected to succeed him as President of Laos by the Supreme People's Assembly in an extraordinary session on November 25, 1992.

When Khamtai decided to move from Prime Minister to President in 1998, Nouhak, who was by then one of the oldest heads of state in the world, retired,[citation needed] leaving office on 24 February 1998.

[2][5][6] The state news agency attributed his death simply to "old age", while noting that he had received medical treatment both in Laos and outside the country.

[5] A committee of 26 members, including leading party and state figures (with President Choummaly Sayasone as its chairman), was formed to organize his funeral, and a five-day national mourning period was declared for 10–14 September, during which time all entertainment was prohibited.