Arthit Kamlang-ek

Arthit Kamlang-ek ( Thai : อาทิตย์ กำลัง เอก , pronunciation : [ ʔaːtʰít kamlaŋʔèːk ]; born August 31, 1925 in Bangkok ; † January 19, 2015 ibid) was a high-ranking military and politician in Thailand . From 1982 to 1986 he was Commander in Chief of the Thai Army, from 1983 to 1986 at the same time Chief of Staff of the entire armed forces . During this time he also had great political influence. After his military career ended, he went into politics with the Party of the Thai People and served as Deputy Prime Minister from 1990 to 1991 and again from 1994 to 1995.

Early years and military

Arthit came from a very simple background. His father was a sergeant, but rose to the rank of captain . Arthit received his training at the Chulachomklao Military Academy in Bangkok, where he was not considered a particularly talented student and graduated with below average results. He then served on posts in the province and was promoted rather slowly. In the mid-1970s he served as the head of a mixed civil-police-military unit in the northeastern border province of Loei , where he first came into contact with the king. Some time later, the Saichaithai Foundation, which is under the patronage of the royal family, honored him as an "outstanding Thai citizen". As a result, he gained public fame and a closer relationship with the royal family. In 1977 he was appointed senator.

In 1980 he was briefly appointed commander of the 1st Army Region, a particularly important position because it controls the troops stationed in the capital. This was an attempt by the clique of the 5th grade military academy and Major General Chavalit Yongchaiyudhs to minimize the influence of the rival and emerging clique of the " Young Turks ". However, the “Young Turks” soon pushed the newly appointed Prime Minister Prem Tinsulanonda to push Arthit back to the post of Deputy Commander of the 2nd Army Region, which for him was a de facto demotion. When the “Young Turks” staged a coup on April 1, 1981, Arthit took over the suppression of the coup attempt and brought the king and his family to safety. He was then sponsored and immediately reappointed commander of the First Army Region. Only five months later he was promoted to four-star general and deputy commander-in-chief of the army.

From October 1982 he was himself commander in chief of the army and expressed unmistakable political ambitions. A year later, he was also supreme commander of the entire armed forces. This accumulation of offices had last happened in 1964 with Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn . It was an open secret that Arthit tried by all means to replace Prime Minister Prem. In November 1984 he publicly criticized the government for its policy of devaluing the Thai currency, the baht .

In May 1986 he tried to overthrow the government together with the parliamentary opposition and a dissent group in the Social Action Party . Prem then dissolved parliament and scheduled new elections. When Arthit was preparing to unite his soldiers and their families to vote for the United Democracy Party, which he supported, Prem dismissed him as Army Commander-in-Chief. Although he remained the chief commander of the armed forces until September of the same year, this office is in fact not that influential. The United Democracy Party performed rather poorly; the Democratic Party , which supported Prem, was victorious . Arthit resigned from military service.

Political work

After his military service, Arthit devoted himself to politics. In 1986 he was reappointed a senator. In 1988 he was appointed to the head of the Thai People's Party (Phak Puang Chon Chao Thai) , which also included the former group of Democratic Soldiers . In July 1988 he moved into parliament as a member of a constituency in Loei Province and in August 1990 became a member of the coalition government under Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan as Deputy Prime Minister .

In February 1991, he and Chatichai were arrested after the army commander-in-chief Sunthorn Kongsompong and a group of officers from the 5th graduate class of the military academy had put a coup around Suchinda Kraprayoon , among other things because Arthit had been appointed deputy defense minister and thus had an influence on it Had budget and appointments. He was released in March 1991 and allowed to travel abroad. In January 1992, Arthit resigned from his party leadership and joined the Sammakkhi Tham party , which was supported by the 1991 coup plotters . In the following political unrest in May 1992 he played no role. The Samakkhi Tham party disintegrated and Arthit joined the new Chart Pattana Party ("National Development Party ") of Chatichai Choonhavan in July 1992 . From December 1994 to July 1995 he was once again Deputy Prime Minister in a coalition government under Chuan Leekpai . Then he ended his political activity.

family

Arthit had two sons and a daughter; he also had a stepson.

Awards

• 1984: Large silver medal on ribbon for services to the Republic of Austria

See also

• Young Turks (Thailand)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Former Army chief Gen Arthit dies at 89
2. ↑ Twilight of Being. In: Der Spiegel , 52/1982, December 27, 1982, p. 85.
3. ↑ Suchit Bunbongkarn: The Military in Thai Politics, 1981-1986. 1987, pp. 18-20
4. ↑ Suchit Bunbongkarn: The Military in Thai Politics, 1981-1986. 1987, p. 25.
5. ↑ Suchit Bunbongkarn: The Military in Thai Politics, 1981-1986. 1987, p. 46.
6. ^ Harold Crouch: Civil-Military Relations in Southeast Asia. In: Consolidating the Third Wave Democracies. Volume 1, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 1997, p. 227.
7. ^ David Murray: Angels and Devils. Thai Politics from February 1991 to September 1992 - A Struggle for Democracy? White Orchid Press, Bangkok 1996, p. 204.
8. ^ Leifer: Dictionary of the Modern Politics of South-East Asia . 1996, p. 59; Keyword "General Arthit Kamlang-Ek"
9. ↑ List of all decorations awarded by the Federal President for services to the Republic of Austria from 1952 (PDF file; 6.59 MB)

literature

• Michael Leifer: Dictionary of the Modern Politics of South-East Asia . Routledge, New York 1996, ISBN 0-415-13821-3 .
• Suchit Bunbongkarn: The Military in Thai Politics, 1981-1986. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore 1987.
• Arthit Khamlang-Ek , in: Internationales Biographisches Archiv 01/1989 of December 26, 1988, in the Munzinger Archive ( beginning of article freely available)

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