Kriangsak Chamanan | |
|---|---|
เกรียงศักดิ์ ชมะนันทน์ | |
 Kriangsak in 1976 | |
| 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 1977 – 30 September 1978 | |
| Preceded by | Kamol Techatungka |
| Succeeded by | Serm Na Nakorn |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Somchit Chamanan 17 December 1917 Nakhon Chai Si, Tawantok, Siam (now Mueang Samut Sakhon, Samut Sakhon, Thailand) |
| Died | 23 December 2003 (aged 86) King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Pathum Wan, Bangkok, Thailand |
| Spouse | Wirat Chamanan |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Thailand |
| Branch/service |  Royal Thai Army |
| Years of service | 1940–1980 |
| Rank |
|
| Commands | Supreme Commander |
| Battles/wars | |
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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. After staging a successful coup, he was asked to become Prime Minister in 1977. He ruled till 1980 and is credited with "steering Thailand to democracy" in a time where communist insurgents were rampant internally and neighbouring countries turned to communist rule following the communist takeover of Vietnam: South Vietnam (by the Viet Cong), Laos (by the Pathet Lao), and Cambodia (by the Khmer Rouge).[1]
Regarded as one of the most notable statesmen in modern Thailand, his landmark developmental policies include the founding of Eastern Seaboard through the founding of PTT, facilitating the building of a deep-sea port in Laem Chabang and negotiating for bilateral trade agreements between Thailand and Japan through Takeo Fukuda to include Thailand in the flying geese paradigm. Chomanan founded the Petroleum Authority of Thailand, transforming it into PTT in a merger between three fragmented state-owned energy companies, serving as a major economic and industrial stimulus in the rise of Thailand secondary production economy in the 1980s and 1990s. Moreover, the founding of PTT also served to lessen the reliance on the global energy market, which was affected by a severe global oil price crisis in the 1970s.[2] His other notable works include the founding of the Chatuchak Market which also helped to solve the Din Daeng Garbage Mountain issue, the Village Health Volunteers organization which acts as a crucial model in Thailand public primary care, the founding of the Ministry of Science and Technology,[3] the passing of the first-ever bills to include tourism in the government economic development plans and the upgrading of the Tourism Authority of Thailand from organizational level to state level,[4] the passing of the current consumer protection acts and organizations and the founding of Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University. After his time in office, he was invited to the InterAction Council of Former Heads of State and Government in solving various global issues, becoming the only Thai prime minister until now[5] and one of fewer than three from Asia at the time of his membership.[6]
A professional soldier, in WWII he was posted in occupied Shan State.[7] He fought against the French in the Franco-Thai War from 1940–43, serving as platoon leader, and against the communists in both the Korean War and the Vietnam War. In Korea, he served as commander of Infantry Battalion III which fought in the Battle of Pork Chop Hill, from which he was one of only a few of the non-citizen officers to receive the Legion of Merit.[8] After the Korean War, Chomanan joined the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, where he is the only Thai person to be included in the Fort Leavenworth Hall of Fame.[6] He's also the only Thai coup leader to make an official visit to Washington where he was welcomed to the White House in 1979 by then-president Jimmy Carter, in contrast to previous leaders honoured in states distant from Washington.[9]
Kriangsak died on 23 December 2003, aged 86. He was survived by his wife Khun Ying (Lady) Virat Chomanan, son Major General Pongpipat Chomanan and daughter Ratanawan.
- ^ "Kriangsak Chamanand, Thai General, Dies at 86". New York Times. 25 December 2003. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
- ^ ณัฐิกานต์, วรสง่าศิลป์. "เส้นทางวิบากที่ถูกลืมของ ปตท. กับความท้าทายในอนาคต (5)". Matichon Weekly. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
- ^ "คณะผู้บริหารในอดีต". www.mhesi.go.th. Retrieved 2 May 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "National Assembly Announcement" (PDF). The National Assembly Library. นร 0110.1 2520 ฉ.ม.
- ^ "FINAL STATEMENT Adopted at the First Session Vienna" (PDF). INTERACTION COUNCIL Final Statement. 16–18 November 1983.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
:1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Smith, Martin. Burma: Insurgency and the Politics of Ethnicity". Zed Books. 1991.
- ^ "South Korea remembers the "Little Tigers"". The Nation (Thailand). 21 August 2013. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
- ^ Limited, Bangkok Post Public Company. "US-Thai ties warming up". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
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