Lao king and dedicated ally of the French throughout the entire Indochina War. He studied in Saigon and then at the Colonial Academy (École coloniale) in Paris between 1900 and 1901. He returned to Laos where he was officially crowned King of Luang Prabang on 4 March 1905. He ruled over Luang Prabang until the Japanese overthrew the French in March 1945. Under Japanese pressure, he agreed to initialize a declaration of independence for Laos and the nullification of the French protectorate. However, he remained faithful to the French and bet his future on their return. To this end, he named Prince Kindavong his personal representative to the Provisional Government of the French Republic led by General Charles de Gaulle. On 30 August 1945, the king declared null and void the independence forced upon him by the Japanese and reaffirmed the legal validity and continuity of the French protectorate. He was adamantly opposed to the Lao Issara and Prince Phetxarāt, whom he stripped of his rank and titles. In return, the Lao Issara deposed the king by popular vote of the Provisional People’s Assembly (though this decision was reversed in April 1946). The king fully supported the return of the French in 1946 and counted on them to protect Lao interests within the Indochinese Federation. In 1946, he approved a constitution for what became a unified Royal Lao government and in 1947 the French allowed Sīsāvangvong to become King of Laos. In July 1949, he signed the Franco-Lao convention by which Laos became an Associated State, the Lao Issara government was dissolved, and its members were allowed to return to Laos, except for Phetxarāt. The French bestowed on the king the Croix de guerre in recognition of his services to the French during World War II. See also ASSOCIATED STATES OF INDOCHINA.