General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party

The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party is the highest-ranking member of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party. Since the party's victory in the Laotian Civil War in 1975, the General Secretary has been the supreme leader of Laos. The General Secretary is also the Chairman of the Defense and Public Security Commission, the commander-in-chief of the Lao People's Armed Forces. From 1991 to 2006, the office was titled Chairman of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party. The Party's Central Committee elects the General Secretary.
For most of the time since 1998, the General Secretary has also served as President of Laos, though from 1975 to 1991 and from 1992 to 1998 he was usually Prime Minister.