The Presidential Palace is the official residence of the President of Laos, who, informally, also holds the position of General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party. It is located on the banks of the Mekong River in the capital city, Vientiane.<br /> Located near Sisaket Temple in the junction of Lane Xang Avenue and Settathirath Road, the building was first started in 1973 by the then Royal Lao Government on the grounds that used to house the royal residence. It was designed by local architect Khamphoung Phonekeo but due to political change brought about by the takeover of the communist Pathet Lao in 1975, the building was not completed until much later. The Presidential Palace finally opened its doors in 1986 and even then only as a venue for government functions and ceremonies. The building is closed to the public. It is a well-known landmark for its imposing yet elegant Beaux-Arts architecture complete with tall colonnades and shaded balconies. The building is surrounded by well-manicured lawns and gardens and fenced off by tall walls and a wrought iron gate. The Presidential Palace is not to be confused with the official home of the Lao president which is located in the Vientiane suburb of Ban Phonthan.
{"Image ImageDescription": "The Presidential Palace is the official residence of the President of Laos, who, informally, also holds the position of General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party. It is located on the banks of the Mekong River in the capital city, Vientiane.  2013 Presidential palace Vientiane.jpg Located near Sisaket Temple in the junction of Lane Xang Avenue and Settathirath Road, the building was first started in 1973 by the then Royal Lao Government on the grounds that used to house the royal residence. It was designed by local architect Khamphoung Phonekeo but due to political change brought about by the takeover of the communist Pathet Lao in 1975, the building was not completed until much later. The Presidential Palace finally opened its doors in 1986 and even then only as a venue for government functions and ceremonies. The building is closed to the public. It is a well-known landmark for its imposing yet elegant Beaux-Arts architecture complete with tall colonnades and shaded balconies. The building is surrounded by well-manicured lawns and gardens and fenced off by tall walls and a wrought iron gate. The Presidential Palace is not to be confused with the official home of the Lao president which is located in the Vientiane suburb of Ban Phonthan.", "Image Make": "NIKON CORPORATION", "Image Model": "NIKON D7000", "Image XResolution": "1", "Image YResolution": "1", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Not Absolute", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 6.6.1 (Macintosh)", "Image DateTime": "2016:10:01 18:33:17", "Image Artist": "Michael Walker", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image Copyright": "Copyright \u00a9 2013 Michael Walker", "Image ExifOffset": "1606", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 3, 0, 0]", "GPS GPSLatitudeRef": "N", "GPS GPSLatitude": "[17, 57, 919/20]", "GPS GPSLongitudeRef": "E", "GPS GPSLongitude": "[102, 36, 946/25]", "GPS GPSAltitude": "308929/1699", "Image GPSInfo": "2068", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/200", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Aperture Priority", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2016:02:14 14:30:56", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2016:02:14 14:30:56", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ApertureValue": "40761/8200", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "29", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "30", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "30", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "3229371", "EXIF LensModel": "17.0-50.0 mm f/2.8"}