Seng Sae Khu
Encyclopedia
Seng Sae Khu or Khu Chun Seng (Thai
: เส็งแซ่คู; ) was a great-great-grandfather of former Thai
prime minister
Thaksin Shinawatra
.
Khu was a Hakka
Chinese immigrant from Fengshun
, Meizhou
, Guangdong
. He arrived in Siam
in the 1860s. In 1908, he settled in Chiang Mai
. He married a Thai woman named Sangdi (most Thais did not have family names before 1918). His eldest son, Chiang Sae Khu, was born in Chanthaburi
in 1890, and also married a Thai, Saeng Somna. Chiang's eldest son, Sak, adopted the Thai surname Shinawatra ("does good routinely") in 1938 during the Phibun
regime's anti-Chinese campaigns. The rest of the family soon adopted it, including Loet, Thaksin's father, who was born in Chiang Mai in 1919. Loet married Yindi Ramingwong, who is also of Hakka Chinese descent.
Seng Sae Khu made his fortune through tax farming
. The Khu/Shinawatra later founded Shinawatra Silks and moved into finance, construction and property development.
Thai language
Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
: เส็งแซ่คู; ) was a great-great-grandfather of former Thai
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
prime minister
Prime Minister of Thailand
The Prime Minister of Thailand is the head of government of Thailand. The Prime Minister is also the chairman of the Cabinet of Thailand. The post has existed since the Revolution of 1932, when the country became a constitutional monarchy....
Thaksin Shinawatra
Thaksin Shinawatra
Thaksin Shinawatra is a Thai businessman and politician, who was Prime Minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006, when he was overthrown in a military coup....
.
Khu was a Hakka
Hakka people
The Hakka , sometimes Hakka Han, are Han Chinese who speak the Hakka language and have links to the provincial areas of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Fujian in China....
Chinese immigrant from Fengshun
Fengshun
Fengshun is a county in Meizhou Municipality , Guangdong Province.-Ethno-linguistic Make-up:While Meizhou is famously Hakka, Fengshun is the southernmost of its counties : it borders Jieyang and Chaozhou municipalities and is comprised in their Teochew dialect area...
, Meizhou
Meizhou
-Administration:The municipal government, Intermediate Court and CPC and PSB bureaux are housed in the district of Jiangnan , on the right bank of Meijiang River.A second district of Meizhou is Jiangbei , on the left bank...
, Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
. He arrived in Siam
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
in the 1860s. In 1908, he settled in Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai sometimes written as "Chiengmai" or "Chiangmai", is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand. It is the capital of Chiang Mai Province , a former capital of the Kingdom of Lanna and was the tributary Kingdom of Chiang Mai from 1774 until 1939. It is...
. He married a Thai woman named Sangdi (most Thais did not have family names before 1918). His eldest son, Chiang Sae Khu, was born in Chanthaburi
Chanthaburi
Chanthaburi ) is a town in the east of Thailand, at the banks of the Chanthaburi River. It is the capital of the Chanthaburi Province and the Mueang Chanthaburi district....
in 1890, and also married a Thai, Saeng Somna. Chiang's eldest son, Sak, adopted the Thai surname Shinawatra ("does good routinely") in 1938 during the Phibun
Plaek Pibulsonggram
Field Marshal Plaek Pibunsongkhram , often known as Phibun Songkhram or simply Phibun in English, was Prime Minister and virtual military dictator of Thailand from 1938 to 1944 and 1948 to 1957.- Early years :...
regime's anti-Chinese campaigns. The rest of the family soon adopted it, including Loet, Thaksin's father, who was born in Chiang Mai in 1919. Loet married Yindi Ramingwong, who is also of Hakka Chinese descent.
Seng Sae Khu made his fortune through tax farming
Tax farming
Farming is a technique of financial management, namely the process of commuting , by its assignment by legal contract to a third party, a future uncertain revenue stream into fixed and certain periodic rents, in consideration for which commutation a discount in value received is suffered...
. The Khu/Shinawatra later founded Shinawatra Silks and moved into finance, construction and property development.