Suchinda Kraprayoon

Suchinda Kraprayoon ( Thai : สุ จินดา ครา ประยูร ; pronunciation: [ sùʔt͡ɕindaː kʰraːpràʔjuːn ] * 6 August 1933 in the province of Nakhon Pathom ) is a former Thai army officer and politician. From 1990 to 1992 he was Commander in Chief of the Army, from 1991 to 1992 he was also Chief of the Supreme Staff of the Thai Armed Forces . After a coup he became prime minister of the country in April 1992. After mass protests, which he tried to suppress with military force, he had to resign in May 1992.

life and career

Family and education

Suchinda is the son of Juang and Sompong Kraprayoon.

Suchinda was initially trained at the Wat Ratchabophit School and the Amnuay Silpa School. He then went to the Chulalongkorn University Medical School in Bangkok . After a year he joined the Cadet Academy of the Thai army , and then went to the prestigious Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy . He belonged to their fifth graduation class since the introduction of the " West Point - Curriculum " ( modeled after the US military academy ). Suchinda was the spokesman for his class. He later married Wannee Noonpakdi, the younger sister of his classmate at the military academy, Issarapong Noonpakdi . Several of the ambitious officers of the fifth year reached top positions in the Thai military during the 1980s, they formed a circle within it and thus also developed political influence.

Military career

After graduating in 1958, he served in the artillery , in 1962 he became company commander . From 1963 to 1964 he attended the Thai Artillery School and then the Army Command and General Staff Course at the US Army Artillery School in Fort Sill , Oklahoma . In 1965 he attended the General Staff School of the Thai Army, from 1966 to 1967 the American Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth , Kansas. On his return he was promoted to major and taught at the General Staff School. Suchinda served in the Vietnam War and was Deputy Military Attaché in Washington from 1972 to 1975 . He played a role in the suppression of the attempted coup by the "Young Turks" on April 1, 1981, an internal military rope team that rivaled the graduates of the fifth year. After supporting General Arthit Kamlang-ek's rise to the helm of the land forces, he was promoted to major general and director of operations in the army the following year. On April 29, 1990, he replaced Chavalit Yongchaiyudh as commander-in-chief of the army. As the successor to General Sunthorn Kongsompong , he also became Chief of the Supreme Staff of the Armed Forces on October 1, 1991.

Putsch and term as prime minister

With his classmates from the fifth year of the military academy and General Sunthorn, Suchinda overthrew the incumbent Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan on February 23, 1991 , who then had to leave the country first. They called themselves the "National Peace Keeping Council" (NPKC) and claimed to have disempowered Chatichai's government, which they called the "Buffet Cabinet", because of rampant corruption and abuse of office. They accused several members of the government of having become "unusually rich". They promised to democratize the country by introducing political education programs for the rural population and to combat widespread vote buying. After a short direct rule, they installed a non-party civilian, the businessman and former diplomat Anand Panyarachun, as the interim premier . This announced reforms and early elections. The NPKC passed a new constitution that did not require the head of government to be an elected politician. He responded to fears that this could pave the way for Suchinda's takeover of power with a promise not to seek the office.

Protesters and military during the Black May events.

Supporters of the NPKC, civil servants and influential business people from the province formed the Samakkhi Tham party , which emerged victorious in the general election on March 22, 1992. They formed a coalition with other military or opportunist parties. This also contradictingly included parties and politicians whom the NPKC had disempowered the year before because of corruption and against whom it had initiated investigations for enrichment, which it has now stopped. First, the coalition nominated businessman Narong Wongwan as prime minister. However, after the latter resigned due to rumors of alleged involvement in drug deals, they proposed General Suchinda, who was not a member of parliament, as head of government. Contrary to his earlier promise not to seek office, he accepted, resigned as military chief and was appointed by the king on April 7th.

After just two weeks, he was faced with major protests by the opposition, in particular the Palang Dharma party of Chamlong Srimuang . Up to 200,000 people gathered for anti-government demonstrations in downtown Bangkok . Suchinda's cabinet responded with a general curfew and used the military against the demonstrators. The arrest of opposition leader Chamlong fueled the rebellion and turned into bloody clashes. According to official figures, when the army tried to crush the protests, 52 people died, possibly up to 200 in fact, and hundreds were injured. The events went down in history as " Black May ". On May 20, King Bhumibol Adulyadej called the prime minister and the opposition leader over and asked them to end the conflict immediately. The king's speech, which could act like a "lecture" for both sides, was broadcast on television and helped to defuse the crisis. Suchinda resigned and left the country on May 24th. Deputy Prime Minister Meechai Ruchuphan took over the post for a transition period of two weeks. The king then set up a new government, again under the leadership of the liberal royalist Anand Panyarachun.

Web links

• Kurzbiografie (English)
• History of Thai Prime Ministers

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Suchit Bunbongkarn: The Military in Thai Politics, 1981-1986. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore 1987, p. 11 ff.
2. ↑ Suchit Bunbongkarn: The Military in Thai Politics, 1981-1986. 1987, p. 9.
3. ↑ Daniel Arghiros: Democracy, Development, and Decentralization in Provincial Thailand. Curzon Press, 2001, p. 170.
4. ↑ ^{a b} Arghiros: Democracy, Development, and Decentralization in Provincial Thailand. 2001, p. 174.
5. ^ ^{A b c} Michael Leifer: Dictionary of the modern politics of South-East Asia . Routledge, London 2001, ISBN 0-415-23875-7 , p. 260. Keyword “Suchinda Kraprayoon”.
6. ^ Paul M. Handley: The King Never Smiles. A Biography of Thailand's Bhumibol Adulyadej , Yale University Press, New Haven 2006, ISBN 0-300-10682-3 , pp. 1-2.

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