Sanya Dharmasakti

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Sanya Dharmasakti (ca.1959)

Sanya Dharmasakti ( Thai : สัญญา ธรรม ศักดิ์ RTGS : Sanya Thammasak ; born April 5, 1905 in Bangkok ; † January 6, 2002 ibid) was a Thai lawyer. He was President of the Supreme Court from 1963 to 1967, Rector of Thammasat University from 1970 to 1973 , Prime Minister from 1973 to 1975, and Chairman of the Privy Council of Thailand from 1975 to 1998 .

life and career

Sanya was the son of Phraya Dhammasaraweth Wisephakdee (Thongdee Dharmasakti) and Khunying Chuen Dharmasakti. He later married Than Phu Ying Pa-nga Dharmasakti.

Education, judge and professor

He received his education at Assumption College and the Justice Department School of Law . Upon graduation, he was admitted to the bar by the Thai Bar Society. He received a scholarship to study at the Middle Temple Bar Academy in Great Britain and was also admitted there as a barrister .

After returning to Thailand, Sanya first worked in the Ministry of Justice and later as a judge at the Court of Appeal , became Chief Justice of Chiang Mai Province , Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Judge at the Supreme Court and finally its chairman. After leaving the judiciary, he became a member of the Privy Council and dean of the law faculty at Thammasat University in Bangkok. Eventually he also became rector of the university.

Term of office as Prime Minister

Sanya Dharmasakti in 1974

After the long-time military dictator Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn resigned in the wake of the democratic popular uprising (largely initiated by students from Thammasat University) in 1973 , King Bhumibol Adulyadej appointed Sanya Dharmasakti, whom he had personally chosen, as Prime Minister on the late evening of October 14, 1973. According to his own statements, the appointment struck the previously politically inactive Sanya completely unprepared and surprising. Two days later, Thanom, his son Colonel Narong Kittikachorn and his deputy Field Marshal Praphas Charusathien , referred to by their opponents as the "Three Tyrants", left the country.

The most important task in Sanya's tenure was the drafting of a new, democratic constitution. Student groups, workers' and peasant organizations, which felt encouraged by the successful uprising in October 1973 but were not represented in the constituent assembly appointed by the king, and reactionary forces who feared for their privileges, exerted great pressure on the government and the constituent assembly. At the end of November 1973 there was a nationwide strike, and Thailand was also affected by the global oil crisis .

On May 22, 1974, Sanya resigned after his draft constitution failed and he found less and less public confidence in the government. However, the king urged him to continue in office and reappointed him five days later. In October 1974 the new constitution could finally come into force. A year after the popular uprising, 20,000 landless peasants protested in front of the prime minister's residence, accusing his government of lying and betraying them. When Field Marshal Thanom tried to return to Thailand at the end of 1974, Sanya turned him down for the sake of maintaining the public peace. After democratic elections had taken place in January 1975, on February 15, Sanya handed over the leadership to Seni Pramoj , who headed an unstable and short-lived coalition government.

Privy Council

After his political career, Sanya was named President of the Privy Council and resigned on September 4, 1998 because of his health. From 1984 to 1999 he was also President of the World Fellowship of Buddhists .

Sanya Dharmasakti died on January 6, 2002 at the age of 96.

The Sanya Dharmasakti Institute for Democracy , located at Thammasat University, is named after him.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kobkua Suwannathat-Pian: Kings, Country and Constitutions. Thailand's Political Development 1932-2000. Routledge Curzon, London / New York 2003, pp. 64, 169.
  2. ↑ Kobkua Suwannathat-Pian: Kings, Country and Constitutions. 2003, p. 169.
  3. ↑ Kobkua Suwannathat-Pian: Kings, Country and Constitutions. 2003, pp. 255-256, footnote 87 (on p. 169).
  4. ↑ Country rejoices as Thanom regime leaders flee the country. In: Nicholas Grossman (ed.): Chronicle of Thailand. Headline News since 1946 Edition Didier Millet, Singapore 2009, p. 193.
  5. ↑ Saitip Sukatipan: Thailand. the evolution of legitimacy. In: Political Legitimacy in Southeast Asia. Stanford University Press, Stanford CA 1995, p. 209.
  6. ^ Workers strike across the country. In: Chronicle of Thailand. P. 194.
  7. ↑ PM empowered to tackle oil crisis. In: Chronicle of Thailand. P. 195.
  8. ^ Government resigns, only to be reappointed. In: Chronicle of Thailand. P. 199.
  9. ↑ Over 20,000 farmers rally over landlessness. In: Chronicle of Thailand. P. 201.
  10. ↑ Thanom's sneaky return cut short. In: Chronicle of Thailand. P. 201.
Note on Thai names : This article addresses people by their first name.
personal data
SURNAME Sanya Dharmasakti
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sanya Thammasak; สัญญา ธรรม ศักดิ์ (th)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Thai lawyer and politician
DATE OF BIRTH April 5, 1905
PLACE OF BIRTH Bangkok , Thailand
DATE OF DEATH January 6, 2002
Place of death Bangkok , Thailand