Chatichai Choonhavan
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General Chatichai Choonhavan | |
---|---|
ชาติชาย ชุณหะวัณ | |
17th Prime Minister of Thailand | |
In office 4 August 1988 – 23 February 1991 | |
Monarch | Bhumibol Adulyadej |
Preceded by | Prem Tinsulanonda |
Succeeded by | Sunthorn Kongsompong (Provisional) |
Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand | |
In office 5 August 1986 – 3 August 1988 | |
Prime Minister | Prem Tinsulanonda |
Minister of Industry | |
In office 5 October 1976 – 6 October 1976 | |
Prime Minister | Seni Pramoj |
Succeeded by | Perm Limpasawad |
In office 20 April 1976 – 23 September 1976 | |
Prime Minister | Seni Pramoj |
Preceded by | Surin Thepkanjana |
Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
In office 17 March 1975 – 21 April 1976 | |
Prime Minister | Kukrit Pramoj |
Preceded by | Bhichai Rattakul[1] |
Succeeded by | Bhichai Rattakul |
Personal details | |
Born | General | 5 April 1920
Battles/wars | |
Chatichai Choonhavan (Thai: ชาติชาย ชุณหะวัณ; RTGS: Chatchai Chunhawan, pronounced [tɕʰâːt.tɕʰāːj tɕʰūn.hà.wān]; 5 April 1920 – 6 May 1998) was a Thai army officer, diplomat and politician. From 1986 to 1991, he was the chairman of the Thai Nation Party and served as the Prime Minister of Thailand from August 1988 until the 1991 coup d'état.
Family
Chatichai was the only son of Field Marshal
Chatichai and Boonruen had two children, daughter Wanee Hongpraphas, and their son political scientist, social activist, and former senator Kraisak Choonhavan.[6]
The former deputy prime minister
Education, military and diplomatic career
Chatichai studied at
In 1951, the military, led by Chatichai's father and his brother-in-law, Phao Siyanon, effectively assumed power in Thailand in a "silent coup". They used their political influence to extend their activities to the economic sphere. Chatichai served in the Korean War as the commander of the 1st Cavalry Battalion. Then, he became director and commander of the Thai Army Armor School. In 1957, Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat—a rival of Chatichai's father and brother-in-law—staged a coup d'état against the government of Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram. He ousted the Phin-Phao clique and filled the important political and military posts with his own followers.[citation needed] The new regime accused the Choonhavan clan (also known as the Soi Rajakru clan, after the family's residence) of having embezzled millions of dollars of public funds and hiding them in Swiss bank accounts. This ended Chatichai's military career.[4]
Chatichai was transferred to the diplomatic service and assigned to the relatively unimportant post of ambassador to Argentina.[4] During the following years he consecutively served as the Thai ambassador to Austria, Switzerland, Turkey, Yugoslavia, the Holy See[9] and the United Nations. In 1972, he returned to Bangkok to become the director of the Foreign Ministry's political department.[10]
Political career
In the government of Field Marshal
In 1974, Chatichai and his in-laws
Premiership
The Thai Nation Party won the most votes in the
Under Chatichai's government, there was rampant corruption. The parties and politicians in Chatichai's coalition scrambled overtly over the distribution of public funds. The Thai press dubbed them the "buffet cabinet",
The formerly right-wing Thai Nation Party had de-ideologized itself and now represented the interests of the rising class of provincial businessmen. It pursued policies that boosted their businesses and involved them in lucrative government contracts. It advocated a reinforcement of the role of parliament, in which politicians from the provinces were strongly represented, in contrast with the unelected power elites in the administration and military which had made political decisions during the tenure of Chatichai's predecessor, Prem Tinsulanonda. Chatichai's government emphasised the economic development of the periphery at the expense of Bangkok's big businesses and military expenditures, which it tried to cut.[21] These policies challenged the country's traditional elites.[22][failed verification]
Disempowerment and return
On 23 February 1991, the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army, General
Chatichai temporarily went into exile in the United Kingdom. After his return, he continued his political activity. After the 1992 Black May, he founded the National Development Party and was again elected in his constituency in Nakhon Ratchasima.[citation needed]
Personal life
Chatichai was known for his fondness of cigars, fine wines, and Harley-Davidson motorcycles.[9] Even in old age, he practised several sports and visited parties and discothèques, earning him a reputation of being a playboy.[27][28]
Death
On 6 May 1998, at the age of 78, Chatichai died from liver cancer in a hospital in London.[9]
Honours
received the following royal decorations in the
- Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Chula Chom Klao
- Knight Grand Cordon of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant
- Knight Grand Cordon of the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand
- Order of Symbolic Propitiousness Ramkeerati
- Bravery Medal
- Victory Medal – Franco-Thai War
- Victory Medal – Pacific War
- Victory Medal – Korean War
- Freemen Safeguarding Medal (First Class)
- Safeguarding the Constitution Medal
- Chakra Mala Medal
- King Rama IX Royal Cypher Medal,1st class
Foreign honours
- UN :
- United Nations Korea Medal(1952)
- Japan :
- Order of the Sacred Treasure, Third Class (1955)
- Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (1970)
- Taiwan :
- Myanmar :
- Maha Tharay Sithu (1958)
- Austria :
- Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria with Sash (1964)
- Argentina :
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Liberator General San Martín (1969)
- Philippines :
- Grand Collar of the Order of Sikatuna (1971)
- Malaysia :
- Honorary Grand Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (1973)[29]
- South Korea :
- Order of Diplomatic Service Merit, Grand Gwanghwa Medal (1974)
- Sweden :
- Royal Order of the Polar Star(1978)
Military rank
- Air Chief Marshal[2]
Volunteer Defense Corps of Thailand rank
References
- ^ "Foreign ministers S-Z". rulers.org. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
- ^ a b [1] [bare URL PDF]
- ^ Close bond with China inherited from ancestors
- ^ a b c Judy Stowe (7 May 1998), "Obituary Chatichai Choonhavan", The Independent, archived from the original on 26 February 2014
- ^ "แม่เล่าให้ฟัง". rspg.org.
- ^ "7 – Market". pantown.com.
- ISBN 9788787062701
- ^ "Chatichai Choonhavan; Former Thai Prime Minister". Los Angeles Times. 7 May 1998. Archived from the original on 16 March 2014.
- ^ a b c d e Seth Mydans (7 May 1998). "Chatichai Choonhavan, 76, Ex-Prime Minister of Thailand". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012.
- ^ a b General Chatichai Junhavan: Biography, Secretariat of the Cabinet of Thailand, archived from the original on 14 May 2015
- ^ Michael Leifer (1996), "Chatichai Choonhavan", Dictionary of the modern politics of South-East Asia, Routledge, p. 48
- ^ Gene T. Hsiao (1977), The Foreign Trade of China: Policy, Law, and Practice, Berkeley/Los Angeles: University of California Press, p. 34
- ^ Kim Woodard (1980), The International Energy Relations of China, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, p. 226
- ^ David Murray (1996), Angels and Devils: Thai Politics from February 1991 to September 1992 – A Struggle for Democracy?, White Orchid Press, p. 32
- ^ Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Thailand. "Names of Past Foreign Ministers". Number 23. Archived from the original on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
- ^ Balázs Szalontai (2011), "From Battlefield into Marketplace: The End of the Cold War in Indochina, 1985-9.", in Artemy Kalinovsky; Sergey Radchenko (eds.), The End of the Cold War in the Third World. New Perspectives on Regional Conflict, Routledge, p. 155 William S. Turley (1993), "More Friends, Fewer Enemies: Vietnam and Indochina-ASEAN Reconciliation", East Asian Security in the Post-Cold War Era, M. E. Sharpe, p. 178
Mark G. Rolls (1994), "Thailand's Post-Cold War Security Policy and Defence Programme", Post-Cold War Security Issues in the Asia-Pacific Region, Frank Cass & Co., p. 97
Pavin Chachavalpongpun (2012), "Thailand: The enigma of bamboo diplomacy", Routledge Handbook of Diplomacy and Statecraft, Routledge, p. 207 - ^ Pasuk Phongpaichit; Chris Baker (1997), "Power in transition: Thailand in the 1990s", Political Change in Thailand: Democracy and Participation, Routledge, p. 31
- Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, p. 101
- ^ Southeast Asian Affairs 1991, Singapur: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1991, p. 304
- ^ "Thailand: Typhoon Hit", Asiaweek, 15: 119
- ^ Pasuk; Baker (1997), Power in transition, pp. 31–32
- ^ Kevin Hewison (1997), "Introduction: Power, oppositions and democratisation", Political Change in Thailand, p. 1
- ^ Pasuk; Baker (1997), Power in transition, p. 28
- ^ Chai-Anan Samudavanija (1997), "Old soldiers never die, they are just bypassed: The military, bureaucracy and globalisation", Political Change in Thailand, p. 52
- ^ Michael K. Connors (1997), "When the dogs howl: Thailand and the politics of democratization", At the Edge of International Relations: Postcolonialism, Gender and Dependency, Continuum, p. 133
- ^ John Girling (1997), Corruption, Capitalism and Democracy, Routledge, p. 65
- ^ David Murray (1991). "The coup d'etat in Thailand, 23 February, 1991: Just another Coup?". Perth: Indian Ocean Centre for Peace Studies. p. 38.
- ^ "That's a bit better", The Economist, 13 August 1988
- ^ "Bahagian Istiadat dan Urusetia Persidangan Antarabangsa". istiadat.gov.my. Archived from the original on 19 July 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- ^ [2] [bare URL PDF]