Kriangsak Chamanan
Kriangsak Chamanan | |
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เกรียงศักดิ์ ชมะนันทน์ | |
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15th Prime Minister of Thailand | |
In office 11 November 1977 – 3 March 1980 | |
Monarch | Bhumibol Adulyadej |
Preceded by | Thanin Kraivichien |
Succeeded by | Prem Tinsulanonda |
Minister of Defence | |
In office 11 August 1977 – 11 May 1979 | |
Prime Minister | himself |
Preceded by | Lek Neawmalee |
Succeeded by | Prem Tinsulanonda |
Minister of Interior | |
In office 12 November 1976 – 11 August 1980 | |
Prime Minister | himself |
Preceded by | Samak Sundaravej |
Succeeded by | Lek Neawmalee |
Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces | |
In office 1 October 1966 – 30 September 1977 | |
Preceded by | Kamol Techatungka |
Succeeded by | Serm Na Nakorn |
Personal details | |
Born |
Samut Sakhon, Siam | 17 December 1917
Died |
23 December 2003 86) Bangkok, Thailand | (aged
Nationality | Thai |
Spouse(s) | Wirat Chamanan |
Signature |
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Military service | |
Allegiance |
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Service/branch |
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Years of service | 1940 - 1980 |
Rank |
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Commands | Supreme Commander |
Battles/wars |
Franco-Thai War World War II Korean War Vietnam War |
Kriangsak Chamanan (Thai: เกรียงศักดิ์ ชมะนันทน์, pronounced [kria̯ŋ.sàk tɕʰā.má(ʔ).nān]; 17 December 1917 – 23 December 2003) served as prime minister of Thailand from 1977 to 1980.
A professional soldier, in WWII he was posted in occupied Shan State.[1] He fought against the French in the Franco-Thai War, and against the communists in both the Korean War and the Vietnam War. In 1977, as Supreme Commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, he staged a successful coup d'état against Prime Minister Thanin Kraivichien.
Kriangsak is widely credited for defusing a long-running communist insurgency in northern Thailand. Allegedly, he allowed the People's Republic of China to ship arms to the rebel Khmer Rouge in Cambodia in exchange for the PRC withdrawing its support of the communists in Thailand.[2] However, this is denied by the Thai government, which cites his offer of amnesty as the primary reason.
In 1974 he secretly brokered a prisoner exchange with the Burmese government, in which the opium warlord Khun Sa was ransomed for the freedom of two Soviet doctors who Khun Sa's followers had kidnapped.[3]
Kriangsak voluntarily retired in February 1980[2] and was succeeded by General Prem Tinsulanonda. In 1981 he re-entered politics at the head of a new political party, the National Democratic Party, which emerged as the only credible political opposition to Prem. His election campaign was partially financed by contacts he had made among the leaders of the opium trade: Khun Sa and Li Wenhuan each secretly contributed $50,000 US.[4]
Honour
Foreign honour
Malaysia: Honorary Grand Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (1979)[5]
References
- ↑ Smith, Martin. Burma: Insurgency and the Politics of Ethnicity". Zed Books. 1991.
- 1 2 "Kriangsak Chomanan". The Economist. 2004-01-08. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
- ↑
- Lintner, Bertil. "Death of a Drug Lord". Asia Times Online. November 1, 2007. Retrieved January 14, 2018. p.2
- ↑ Lintner, Bertil. Burma in Revolt: Opium and Insurgency Since 1948. Silkworm Books. 1999. p.319
- ↑ "Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat".
External links
Political offices | ||
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Preceded by Tanin Kraivixien |
Prime Minister of Thailand 1977–1980 |
Succeeded by Prem Tinsulanonda |