The 1st plenum of the 8th Central Committee reestablished the Secretariat and elected the 8th Politburo of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, in which Khamtai, the outgoing party General Secretary, was the only member of the 7th Politburo who resigned. Choummaly Sayasone, the Vice President of Laos, succeeded Khamtai as party general secretary. While no one left their posts, two new members were elected to the politburo; Somsavat Lengsavat and Pany Yathothu, who was the first ethnic Hmong and first woman to be appointed to that body.
