Siamese coup d'état of 1947 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Siamese coup d'état of 1947 (Thai:

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...

รัฐประหาร 8 พฤศจิกายน พ.ศ. 2490) was a 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...

coup d’état that happened on the evening of 7 November 1947, ending in the early hours of the morning on 8 November. The coup ousted the government of Rear Admiral Thawan Thamrong Nawasawat

Thawal Thamrong Navaswadhi

Rear Admiral Thawal Thamrong Navaswadhi was the 8th prime minister of Thailand from 1946-1947.A career naval officer of Chinese ancestry, Admiral Thamrong was a leading member of the anti-Japanese Seri Thai resistance movement during World War II. He became Thailand's elected prime minister on...

, who was replaced by Khuang Aphaiwong

Khuang Abhaiwongse

Major Luang Khuang Abhaiwongse was three times the prime minister of Thailand.Khuang was born in Battambang now belonging to Cambodia as the son of the Siamese governor of the province Battambang, Chao Phraya Abhayabhubet...

as Prime Minister of Thailand

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....

. The coup was led by Lieutenant-General Phin Chunhawan

Phin Choonhavan

Field Marshal Phin Choonhavan was a Thai military leader. Phin was a leader of several coups against the government, most notably the 1947 coup...

and Colonel Kat Katsongkhram.

Background

On August 1, 1944, as the Allies

Allies of World War II

The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...

were winning the Second World War, the pro-Japanese strongman Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram

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 :...

was forced by parliament to resign his premiership. He was replaced by Khuang Aphaiwong, a civilian who had the backing of Pridi Phanomyong

Pridi Phanomyong

Pridi Banomyong was a highly revered Thai politician. He was a former Prime Minister and Senior Statesman of Thailand, and was named one of the world's great personalities of the 20th century by UNESCO in 2000.-Family background:...

, regent for the absent King Ananda Mahidol

Ananda Mahidol

Ananda Mahidol was the eighth monarch of Thailand under the House of Chakri. At the time he was recognized as king by the National Assembly, in March 1935, he was a nine-year-old boy living in Switzerland. He returned to Thailand in December 1945. Six months later, in June 1946, he was found shot...

and head of the Seri Thai

Free Thai Movement

The Free Thai Movement was a Thai underground resistance movement against Imperial Japan during World War II. Seri Thai were an important source of military intelligence for the Allies in the region, and were notable for being the only World War II resistance movement to use fighter aircraft of its...

underground resistance. For the next three years civilian cabinets, led behind the scenes by Pridi, governed the kingdom.

For a brief while the various elements of the anti-Phibun coalition - Pridi and his supporters in the bureaucracy, politicians from the north-east, and conservative royalists - retained their unity. All hoped to see constitutional government succeed, and all feared a resurgence of the military. Having established a civilian government, Khuang resigned in August 1945 to make way for a better qualified person to negotiate with the allies. The most obvious choice was the leader of the American-based Seri Thai, Seni Pramot

Seni Pramoj

Mom Rajawongse Seni Pramoj was three times the prime minister of Thailand and a politician in the Democrat Party. A member of the Thai royal family, he was a descendant of King Rama II.-Biography:...

, who Pridi invited to become prime minister.

In January 1946, Seni resigned and asked for the dissolution of parliament to pave the way for elections. Khuang and his new royalist allies were elected to power. But because Pridi chose to support Direk Chaiyanam

Direk Jayanama

Direk Jayanama was the founding member of the Thai Revolution that had instilled Democracy for all Thais, together with Field Marshal P Pibulsonggram and Pridi Panomyong....

as his personal candidate, Khuang included none of the former regent's allies in his cabinet, but placed many of his opponents, including Seni. Pridi's followers immediately sought revenge, continually harassing the government, further intensifying the bitterness between themselves and the conservatives. Within six weeks Khuang abruptly resigned, forcing Pridi to reluctantly step in and risk his personal prestige. Up until the resignation of his wartime ally, Pridi had enjoyed the prestige of his position as a senior statesman without having to involve himself in everyday politics. Pridi's failure to control inflation tarnished his reputation for competence, while official corruption bedevilled his governments.

On the June 9, 1946, the 20 year-old King Ananda Mahidol, who had restored popularity to the monarchy, was found dead in his bedroom with a gunshot to the head. Khuang, Seni, and the royalists who dominated their newly formed Democrat Party

Democrat Party (Thailand)

The Democrat Party is Thailand's oldest political party and was the main coalition government party of the 23rd House of Representatives of Thailand. The Democrat Party's current leader is Abhisit Vejjajiva, incumbent opposition leader and former Prime Minister. The party upholds a conservative...

were quick to blame Pridi, spreading the rumour that the prime minister and his supporters had assassinated the monarch for their own political purposes and possibly to establish a republic. Conservative newspapers criticised the government for failing to protect the monarchy, provoking Pridi to use repressive measures: he declared a state of emergency, censored newspapers, and arrested two editors and two opposition MPs.

In an attempt to preserve his political influence, Pridi resigned on August 21, 1946. He was replaced five days later by Rear Admiral Thamrong, who would serve as Pridi's front man.

Prelude

Rear Admiral Thamrong’s government however proved ineffective and was soon engulfed in scandal

Scandal

A scandal is a widely publicized allegation or set of allegations that damages the reputation of an institution, individual or creed...

s. The most well known was a charge of corruption

Political corruption

Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...

stemmed from a government program to hand out free shovel

Shovel

A shovel is a tool for digging, lifting, and moving bulk materials, such as soil, coal, gravel, snow, sand, or ore. Shovels are extremely common tools that are used extensively in agriculture, construction, and gardening....

s and spade

Spade

A spade is a tool designed primarily for the purpose of digging or removing earth. Early spades were made of riven wood. After the art of metalworking was discovered, spades were made with sharper tips of metal. Before the advent of metal spades manual labor was less efficient at moving earth,...

s to rural

Rural

Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...

farmer

Farmer

A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...

s. The farming equipments brought and handed out were sub-standard; leading to charges of corruption and embezzlement

Embezzlement

Embezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted....

by the public. The scandal became known as the “Eating from shovels Scandal” (Thai:

Thai language

กินจอบกินเสียม). This many other scandals led to the debate (which lasted for seven days and seven nights) and a vote of no confidence, all called for by the Democrats, Thamrong survived it.

When asked by a journalist the Prime Minister joked that he was: “already sleeping for a coup” (Thai:

Thai language

"ก็นอนรอการปฏิวัติอยู่แล้ว"), confident at the time that he had the backing of the Military: especially the entire Army behind him, he was wrong.

The Plotters

The coup was led by Lieutenant General Phin Choonhavan

Phin Choonhavan

Field Marshal Phin Choonhavan was a Thai military leader. Phin was a leader of several coups against the government, most notably the 1947 coup...

and Colonel Kard Kardsonggram. Other members of the group were: Police General Phao Sriyanond

Phao Sriyanond

Phao Sriyanond was a director general of Thailand's national police who was notorious for his excesses against political opponents. He eventually fled the country and died in exile.-Rise to power:...

(Thai:

Thai language

เผ่า ศรียานนท์), Colonel Sarit Dhanarajata

Sarit Dhanarajata

Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat , was a Thai career soldier who staged a coup in 1957, thereafter serving as Thailand's Prime Minister until his death in 1963. He was born in Bangkok, but grew up in his mother's home town in Lao-speaking northeastern Thailand and considered himself a northeasterner...

(Thai:

Thai language

สฤษดิ์ ธนะรัชต์), Colonel Thanom Kittikachorn

Thanom Kittikachorn

Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn was a military dictator of Thailand. A staunch anti-Communist, Thanom oversaw a decade of military rule in Thailand from 1963 to 1973, until public protests which exploded into violence forced him to step down...

(Thai:

Thai language

ถนอม กิตติขจร), and Lieutenant Colonel Praphas Charusathien (Thai:

Thai language

ประภาส จารุเสถียร), Captain Chatichai Choonhavan

Chatichai Choonhavan

General Chatichai Choonhavan was the Prime Minister of Thailand from 1988 to 1991. He was the only son of Field Marshal Phin Choonhavan, and is of Thai Chinese descent with ancestry from Chenghai District...

(Thai:

Thai language

ชาติชาย ชุณหะวัณ) (the leader’s son). They called themselves the National Soldier’s Committee (Thai:

Thai language

คณะทหารแห่งชาติ).

The Coup

The plotters planned the coup to begin at 5:00 a.m. on the 8 November, however their plot was discovered days earlier by the Commander-in-Chief

Commander-in-Chief

A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...

of the Army

Army

An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...

. Who in an effort to thwart the attempt ordered all senior officers to report for duty at the Army Headquarters instantly. The plotters therefore changed their plans decided to begin their operations at about 11:00 p.m. on the 7 November instead.

They started by sending a squadron of tanks to Amphorn Gardens (Thai:

Thai language

สวนอัมพร) near the centre of government. They immediately arrested Prime Minister Thamrong and held him hostage

Hostage

A hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor. The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war...

. Another tank squadron went to search for Pridi. After arriving at his riverside residence they found that he has escaped (he was told of the plot beforehand by an informant

Informant

An informant is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law enforcement world, where they are officially known as confidential or criminal informants , and can often refer pejoratively to the supply of information...

), and all that was left were his wife and children, they were all arrested. Unbeknownst to them, Pridi was hiding under the protection of Admiral

Admiral

Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...

Luang Sinthusongkramchai (Thai:

Thai language

หลวงสินธุสงครามชัย) the C-in-C of the Navy

Royal Thai Navy

The Royal Thai Navy is the navy of Thailand and part of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, it was established in the late 19th century. Admiral Prince Abhakara Kiartiwongse is "The Father of Royal Thai Navy". Similar to the organizational structure of the United States, the Royal Thai Navy includes the...

at his base.

On the morning of the 8 November, General Choonhavan

Phin Choonhavan

Field Marshal Phin Choonhavan was a Thai military leader. Phin was a leader of several coups against the government, most notably the 1947 coup...

read out a declaration

Declaration

Declaration may refer to:* Declaration , specifies the identifier, type, and other aspects of language elements* Declaration , when the captain of a cricket team declares its innings closed...

to the press and broadcasted by radio

Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

; laying out to the people the plotter’s reasoning. They stated they were right to remove the government due to: the fact that the people were suffering under high prices and the general lack of foods and goods. This they considered a grievous lack of morals on the government’s behalf. Finally they reckoned that the government was unable to solve the problem and must be removed by force. During the speech he cried profusely and was dubbed sarcastically by the press as the “Hero of tears” (Thai:

Thai language

วีรบุรุษเจ้าน้ำตา), or the “Crying patriot” (Thai:

Thai language

บุรุษผู้รักชาติจนน้ำตาไหล).

The National Soldier’s Committee then called out Khuang, the Leader of the Opposition

Leader of the Opposition

The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest party not in government in a Westminster System of parliamentary government...

to take over as Prime Minister; he took the position on 12 November (He became Prime Minister for the 3rd time). The Committee on the other hand set up their own legislative assembly

Legislative Assembly

Legislative Assembly is the name given in some countries to either a legislature, or to one of its branch.The name is used by a number of member-states of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as a number of Latin American countries....

called the Council of Ministers of the Assembly (Thai:

Thai language

คณะรัฐมนตรีสภา), they made a deal with Khaung that as longs as he stayed out of their business, they would stay out of his.

On the 25 November 1947, Prince Rangsit of Chainant

Rangsit, Prince of Chainat

Rangsit Prayurasakdi, Prince of Chainat or Somdej Phra Chao Boromawongse Ther Krom Phraya Jainad Narendhorn was the Thai Founder of the Public Health Ministry and Prince Regent.-Early life:...

the Regent of Siam signed a provisional charter or the Constitution of 1947. King Bhumibol, who was studying in Lausanne

Lausanne

Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...

, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

at the time endorsed him.

On the 29 January 1948 elections were held in which Khuang and his party won the majority of the votes and seats in the new Assembly, later Khuang was confirmed as Prime Minister. However on the 6 April, the Committee under the leadership of Kardsonggram forced Khuang to resign his post. They instead invited Field Marshal Phibul

Plaek Pibulsonggram

to return to the post. He became Prime Minister for the second time on 8 April 1948.

Legacy

The most obvious legacy of the coup was of course the reinstatement of Field Marshal Phibul and his dictatorship. The coup also increased the role of the Army, and gave them a perfect example of how to carry out coups in the future. For from now under the pretext of saving the nation the Military was allowed, using the same or similar excuses to topple any democratic government they please. Like so many coups before or since the event elicited little response from the populace. The Democrat Party remained in opposition till 1975. While Phibul would resume his dictatorship, and rule until 1957. The plotters from then on were known as; the Coup Group

1947 Coup Group (Thailand)

Thailand's powerful Coup Group was composed of powerful military officers who planned and carried out a coup d'état in November 1947. Their prestige and influence were quickly enhanced by Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram's return to politics. They would however outlast him and dominate Thai...

.

The coup inadvertently led to the draft and signing of the 1949 Constitution. The most Royalist

Royalist

A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of government, but not necessarily a particular monarch...

constitution to date, it gave the monarchy back almost all of its powers that were taken away by the 1932 Revolution

Siamese Revolution of 1932

The Siamese Revolution of 1932 or the Siamese Coup d'état of 1932 was a crucial turning point in Thai history in the 20th century...

.

The coup also brought an end to Pridi’s career and any dreams his supporters might have of him resuming the Premiership. On the 20 November 1948 Pridi was spirited out of the country by British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

and American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

agents never to return to Thailand, he died in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

in 1983,aged 83.

The coup was also a stepping-stone for many individuals, whose names would later become common in the politics of Thailand as a result of their participation in the coup. They would all become Prime Ministers and two of them would go on to one day lead a coup of their own. They were: Sarit Dhanarajata

Sarit Dhanarajata

, Thanom Kittikachorn

Thanom Kittikachorn

, and Chatichai Choonhavan

Chatichai Choonhavan

Background

Prelude

The Plotters

The Coup

Legacy

See also