Pote Sarasin

Pote Sarasin

Pote Sarasin ( Thai : พจน์ สารสิน , RTGS : Phot Sarasin, pronunciation: [ pʰót saːrásǐn ]; born March 25, 1905 in Bangkok ; †  September 28, 2000 ibid) was a Thai diplomat and politician. He was Prime Minister of Thailand from September to December 1957 and SEATO's first general secretary from 1957 to 1963 .

biography

Pote Sarasin comes from an old family of merchants and landowners. His father was the doctor and rice trader Phraya Sarasin Swamipakdi (Tian Hi), his mother Khunying Suhn Sarasin. Pote received his education at the Wilbraham Academy in the US state of Massachusetts . After returning to Thailand, he studied the legal system of the country and was admitted to the Thai Bar Association in 1929. He then continued his studies at the Law School of the English Bar Association Middle Temple continued and was admitted as a Barrister . After returning to Thailand, he practiced as a lawyer in Bangkok from 1933 to 1945.

Pote was married to Siri Sarasin, who was given the title of Khun Ying by the king . They had three sons, all of whom were also politically active: Pong Sarasin (* 1927) became a member of parliament for the Social Action Party and twice deputy prime minister (under Prem Tinsulanonda and Chatichai Choonhavan ); Pao Sarasin (1929–2013) became police general and national chief of police as well as deputy prime minister and interior minister under Anand Panyarachun ; Arsa Sarasin (* 1936) became a diplomat, foreign minister and private secretary to King Bhumibol Adulyadej .

Pote began his political career in 1947 as a senator and was appointed deputy foreign minister in 1948. In 1949 he finally took over the Foreign Ministry . Unlike Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram , Pote refused to recognize the US-backed regime of Bảo Đại in Vietnam because he doubted that it had enough popular support and feared that the recognition could negatively affect future Thai-Vietnamese relations . When the prime minister overrode his resistance, Pote resigned on March 1, 1950 on principle. Between 1952 and 1957, Pote was Thailand's ambassador to the United States until 1955 and was also the country's permanent representative to the United Nations (UN).

In July 1957, Pote was elected the first general secretary of the newly founded SEATO . As soon as he took office, however, he was appointed Prime Minister of Thailand on September 21, 1957 after Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat had overthrown the government of Phibunsongkhram by means of a coup . His main task was to prepare for the upcoming parliamentary elections. The appointment of Pote met with great approval on the part of the US government, with which he had a very good relationship.

After the elections in December 1957 - unlike the previous ones, were largely free and fair - and the ruling party had missed a majority by far, he resigned as head of government. He was succeeded by General Thanom Kittikachorn . He then returned to his post as Secretary General of SEATO, which he held until December 13, 1963.

On December 9, 1963, Prime Minister Thanom Kittikachorn appointed him Minister for National Development. After a cabinet reshuffle, he was last as successor to Sunthorn Hongladarom from February 10, 1968 to March 7, 1969 Minister of Economic Affairs .

In the subsequent cabinet of Prime Minister Thanom he was again Minister for National Development from March 7, 1969 to November 17, 1971. After Thanom's coup d'état , which suspended the constitution, Pote Sarasin was director of economy, finance and industry on the National Executive Council from 1971 to 1972.

Pote Sarasin died on September 28, 2000 at the age of 95 in Bangkok.

Web links

Commons : Pote Sarasin  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Kurzbiografie (English)
• History of Thai Prime Ministers
• rulers.org

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Pote Sarasin , Munziger-Archiv 11/1972, as of March 6, 1972.
2. ↑ The Cabinet Phibul Songkhram April 8, 1948 - June 25, 1949 ( Memento of the original of March 24, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ^ Daniel Fineman: A Special Relationship. The United States and Military Government in Thailand, 1947–1958. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu 1997, ISBN 0-8248-1818-0 , pp. 110-113.
4. ↑ Royal Thai Embassy Washington, DC ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
5. ↑ The Cabinet Pote Sarasin September 21, 1957 - December 26, 1957 ( Memento of the original from March 24, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
6. ^ Fineman: A Special Relationship. 1997, p. 244.
7. ^ Fineman: A Special Relationship. 1997, p. 248.
8. ↑ The Cabinet Thanom Kittikachorn December 9, 1963 - March 7, 1969 ( Memento of the original from June 5, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
9. ↑ The Cabinet Thanom Kittikachorn March 7, 1969 - November 17, 1971 ( Memento of the original from March 24, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 

predecessor	Office	successor
-	Secretary General of SEATO 1957–1963	William Worth

Note on Thai names : This article addresses people by their first name.