Ngarmchit Prem Purachatra

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ngarmchit Prem Purachatra (Thai: หม่อม งาม จิตต์ บุ ร ฉัตร ณ อยุธยา , born on June 7, 1915 ; died on October 18, 1983 ) was a Thai princess and philanthropist who worked for children, women and the socially disadvantaged in her home country began. She became part of the royal family of Thailand by marriage.

Life

Her birth name (หม่อม งาม จิตต์) was transliterated as Ngamchitti, Ngarmchit or Ngarm Jittra. She was the daughter of Phra Sarasas Palakant, a lieutenant general . Her father was involved in the coup in Siam in 1932 and briefly served as Minister for Economic Affairs in 1937. He mediated between the Siamese and Japanese governments and from 1940 found refuge in exile in Japan, where he wrote a book about his homeland. Her mother was Swasdi Assavanonth. Ngarmchit Sarasas had an older brother and three younger sisters. She attended schools in Bangkok and later studied at the Sorbonne in France, where her father was stationed at the Siamese embassy. During this time she learned French, English and Spanish.

In 1939, she returned to her home country before Thailand declared war on France . On January 22, 1940 she married Prince Prem Purachatra (August 12, 1915– July 24, 1981), the grandson of King Chulalongkorn and the only son of Purachatra Jayakara . Her husband was a literature professor in Bangkok and known for his translations of Thai poetry into English. Since her marriage, she has mostly been referred to as the Princess (Ngarmchit) Prem Purachatra. The couple had no children but an adopted son.

In 1946 they founded the Standard , a weekly newspaper written in English for the international audience interested in Thailand. Ngarmchit was the editor-in-chief. She was also the editor of several other publications, including the Thai Youth Red Cross Movement newspaper.

From 1943 she was active in several charities, including the volunteer Red Cross helpers of Thailand and the YWCA . Under royal patronage, she founded schools and aid organizations for children, the sick and the socially disadvantaged. In 1970 she was the initiator of the SOS Children Foundation in Thailand . She established foundations for disabled war veterans (1944), the mentally handicapped (1962) and the physically handicapped (1980). Their contributions have had a significant impact on the social and cultural wellbeing of Thailand.

Her husband Prem Purachatra was ambassador to India, Nepal, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Denmark and Norway between 1968 and 1975. She accompanied him to the respective posts and was therefore no longer able to continue the local welfare work and also her work as editor of the Standard , which she had carried out for more than 20 years.

She had been elected President of the National Council of Women of Thailand , the national offshoot of the International Women's Council (ICW) , which was founded on her initiative at the time, since 1959 . She was president of the ICW from 1976 to 1979. In this function she visited the Federal Republic of Germany in April 1978 at the invitation of the German Women's Ring .

She was also interested in traditional crafts and in 1981 founded the Asian Handicraft Promotion and Development Association , a local UNESCO partner organization. She was also involved in other rural development programs. In addition, she made donations for learned Buddhist institutions, but also for Muslim and Christian institutions. In the first years of the war between Cambodia and Vietnam she supported donation campaigns for border guards on the border with Cambodia .

She outlived her husband by two years and died in 1983 after a long hospital stay.

Appreciation

She has been awarded the Order of the Crown of Thailand (2nd class), the Order of the White Elephant (3rd class) and the Order of Chula Chom Klao (2nd class) for her services .

She was honored in 2015 on the occasion of her 100th birthday on a 3 baht postage stamp. Several social foundations still use her name today.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Chusri Ngamprasert: The princess who was always giving . In: The Nation , June 4, 2015.
  2. ↑ Richard Clark: Sam Hill's Peace Arch . AuthorHouse 2006. ISBN 1-4208-5168-3 . P. 251. Digitized
  3. ↑ a b UNESCO: Anniversaries celebrated by member states , 2015
  4. ↑ Biographical list of personal achievements (Engl.)
  5. ↑ Cordula Koepcke: Women show their colors . Leske Verlag, Opladen 1984. p. 128. Digitized
personal data
SURNAME Prem Purachatra, Ngarmchit
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sarasas, Ngarmchit (maiden name); Sarsas, ngamchitti; Ayutthaya, Ngarm Jittra (หม่อม งาม จิตต์ บุ ร ฉัตร ณ อยุธยา)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Thai princess and philanthropist
DATE OF BIRTH June 7, 1915
DATE OF DEATH October 18, 1983