An ethnic Chinese, Chinese name: 凌绪光 (Lin Xuguang), who hails from Luang Prabang with ancestry from Hainan,[1] he was a protégé of Kaysone Phomvihane.

In 1961 he joined the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and fought in the Laotian Civil War.

[2] He became foreign minister in 1993 and served until 8 June 2006, when he was replaced by Thongloun Sisoulith.

Besides his native Lao, he is fluent in Standard Chinese.

This article about a politician from Laos is a stub.