The laser has a rod- or disc-shaped solid body (9) as the active laser medium, receiving the pumping radiation (11) from laser diodes (10) positioned at spaced points around it. The solid body is enclosed radial to its axis by a glass or crystal surround which is transparent to the emitted radiation and divided into at least 2 regions, respectively acting as an irradiation region (7) and a reflective region (8), reflecting the radiation onto the solid body. ADVANTAGE - Eliminates need for expensive elliptical or cylindrical mirrors.