Vang Pobzeb

Dr. Vang Pobzeb, PhD. (or Pobzeb Vang) was a Hmong American dedicated to Lao and Hmong human rights. He was born in Laos on July 12, 1957 and died in Saint Paul, Minnesota on August 23, 2005, reportedly of a heart attack. He received his Ph.D at the University of Denver. He was recognized post-humously on September 22, 2005 by the Wisconsin Senate for his work assisting the Hmong and Laotian community. For over 25 years, he was an outspoken critic of the Marxist governments of the Pathet Lao in Laos and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam(SRV) and their human rights violations, religious freedom violations, and persecution of the Lao and Hmong people.

Dr. Vang was one of the first Hmong scholars and PhDs and earned his doctoral degree in international relations from the University of Colorado, Denver, with a focus on world politics and Asian security, refugee and human rights issues.

Vang Pobzeb was responsible for the United Nations's recognition of Hmong as the proper term for the Hmong people. Additionally, he testified in the US Congress, and at the United Nations in New York City and Geneva on numerous occasions on the Hmong genocide in Laos. Vang Pobzeb also published numerous papers related to contemporary Hmong issues, especially on human rights, world politics and foreign policy. His work was among the earliest Hmong scholarly publications in the United States.

Dr. Vang founded, a served as the first president and executive director, of the Lao Human Rights Council, Inc. (LHRC) a national and international non-governmental organization NGO based in Colorado, Wisconsin, Washington, D.C. and other states.

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