Plaek Phibunsongkhram

Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram PChW MPCh MWM NR
แปลก พิบูลสงคราม
Prime Minister of Thailand
In office 8 April 1948 – 16 September 1957
Monarch	Bhumibol Adulyadej
Preceded by	Khuang Aphaiwong
Succeeded by	Pote Sarasin
In office 16 December 1938 – 1 August 1944
Monarch	Ananda Mahidol
Preceded by	Phraya Phahonphonphayuhasena
Succeeded by	Khuang Aphaiwong
Minister of Defence
In office 28 June 1949 – 26 February 1957
Prime Minister	himself
Preceded by	Suk Chatnakrob
Succeeded by	Sarit Thanarat
In office 22 September 1934 – 15 November 1943
Prime Minister	Phot Phahonyothin himself
Preceded by	Phot Phahonyothin
Succeeded by	Pichit Kriengsakpichit
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 15 December 1941 – 19 June 1942
Prime Minister	himself
Preceded by	Direk Jayanama
Succeeded by	Luang Wichitwathakan
Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives
In office 12 September 1957 – 16 September 1957
Prime Minister	himself
Preceded by	Siri Siriyothin
Succeeded by	Wiboon Thammaboot
Minister of Culture
In office 12 September 1957 – 16 September 1957
Prime Minister	himself
Preceded by	position establish
Succeeded by	Pisan Sunavinvivat
Minister of Commerce
In office 4 February 1954 – 23 March 1954
Prime Minister	himself
Preceded by	Boonkerd Sutantanon
Succeeded by	Siri Siriyothin
Finance Minister of Thailand
In office 13 October 1949 – 18 July 1950
Prime Minister	himself
Preceded by	Prince Vivatchai Chaiyant
Succeeded by	Chom Jamornmarn
Minister of Interior
In office 13 October 1949 – 18 July 1950
Prime Minister	himself
Preceded by	Thawan Thamrongnawasawat
Succeeded by	Chuang Kwancherd
Minister of Education
In office 1942–1942
Prime Minister	himself
Preceded by	Sindhu Kamolnavin
Succeeded by	Prayun Phamonmontri
Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces
In office 13 November 1940 – 24 November 1943
Preceded by	position established
Succeeded by	Sarit Thanarat
Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Army
In office 4 January 1938 – 5 August 1944
Preceded by	Phraya Phahonphonphayuhasena
Succeeded by	Phichit Kriangsakphichit
Personal details
Born	Plaek Khittasangkha (1897-07-14)14 July 1897 Mueang Nonthaburi, Nonthaburi, Siam
Died	11 June 1964(1964-06-11) (aged 66) Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
Nationality	Thai
Political party	Seri Manangkhasila Party (1955–57)
Other political affiliations	Khana Ratsadon (1927–54)
Spouse(s)	La-iad Bhandhukravi
Children	6, including Nitya
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Siam Thailand
Branch/service	Royal Thai Army Royal Armed Forces
Years of service	1914–1957
Rank	Field Marshal Admiral of the Fleet Marshal of the Air Force
Commands	Supreme Commander
Battles/wars	Boworadet Rebellion Franco-Thai War Pacific War Palace Rebellion

Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram (Thai: แปลก พิบูลสงคราม  [plɛ̀ːk pʰí.būːn.sǒŋ.kʰrāːm]; alternatively transcribed as Pibulsongkram or Pibulsonggram; 14 July 1897 – 11 June 1964), locally known as Chomphon Por (Thai: จอมพล ป.; [tɕɔ̄ːm.pʰōn.pɔ̄ː]), contemporarily known as Phibun (Pibul) in the West, was a Thai military officer and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Thailand and dictator from 1938 to 1944 and 1948 to 1957.

Phibunsongkhram was a member of the Royal Siamese Army wing of Khana Ratsadon, the first political party in Thailand, and a leader of the Siamese revolution of 1932 transforming Thailand from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy. Phibunsongkhram became the third Prime Minister of Thailand in 1938 as Commander of the Royal Siamese Army, establishing a de facto military dictatorship inspired by the Italian fascism of Benito Mussolini which promoted Thai nationalism and sinophobia, and allied Thailand with Imperial Japan in World War II. Phibunsongkhram launched a modernization campaign known as the Thai Cultural Revolution that included a series of cultural mandates, changing the country's name from "Siam" to "Thailand", and promotion of the common Thai language.

Phibunsongkhram was ousted as Prime Minister by the National Assembly in 1944 and replaced by members of the Free Thai Movement until returning to power in the Siamese coup d'état of 1947 led by the Coup Group. Phibunsongkhram aligned Thailand with anti-communism in the Cold War, entered the Korean War under the United Nations Command, and abandoned fascism for a façade of democracy. Phibunsongkhram's second term as Prime Minister was plagued by political instability and was subject to several attempted coup d'etats to remove him including the Army General Staff plot in 1948, the Palace Rebellion in 1949, and the Manhattan Rebellion in 1951. Phibunsongkhram attempted to transform Thailand into a liberal democracy from the mid-1950s, but was overthrown in 1957 and entered exile in Japan where he died in 1964.

Phibunsongkhram is the longest serving Prime Minister of Thailand to-date at 15 years and one month.

Early years[edit]

Phibun as a teenager.

Plaek Khittasangkha (Thai: แปลก ขีตตะสังคะ  [plɛ̀ːk kʰìːt.tà.sǎŋ.kʰá]) was born on 14 July 1897 in Mueang Nonthaburi, Nonthaburi Province in the Kingdom of Siam to Keed Khittasangkha and his wife.^[1] Plaek's paternal grandfather was said to be a Cantonese-speaking Chinese immigrant. However, the family was completely assimilated as Thai and Plaek did not show any features deemed to be typical of ethnic Chinese,^[2] which is why he could later successfully conceal and deny his Chinese roots.^[3] Plaek's parents owned a durian orchard and he received his given name – meaning "strange" in Thai – because of his unusual appearance as a child. Plaek Khittasangkha studied at Buddhist temple schools, then was appointed to Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy, he graduated in 1914 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the artillery. Following World War I, he was sent to study artillery tactics in France. In 1928, as he rose in rank, he received the noble title Luang from King Prajadhipok and became known as Luang Phibunsongkhram, he would later drop his Luang title, but permanently adopted Phibunsongkhram as his surname.

1932 revolution[edit]

In 1932, Phibunsongkhram was one of the leaders of the Royal Siamese Army branch of the Khana Ratsadon (People's Party), a political organization that staged a coup d'état which overthrew the absolute monarchy in Siam and replaced it with a constitutional monarchy. Phibunsongkhram, at the time a lieutenant colonel, quickly rose to prominence in the military as a "man-on-horseback";^[4] the 1932 coup was followed by the nationalization of some companies and increasing state control of the economy.

The following year, Phibunsongkhram and allied military officers allied successfully crushed the Boworadet Rebellion, a royalist revolt led by Prince Boworadet. While King Prajadhipok was not in any way involved in the rebellion, it marked the beginning of a slide which ended in his abdication and replacement by King Ananda Mahidol in 1935; the new king was still a child studying in Switzerland, and parliament appointed Colonel Prince Anuwatjaturong, Lieutenant Commander Prince Aditya Dibabha, and Chao Phraya Yommaraj (Pun Sukhum) as his regents.

Prime Minister of Thailand[edit]

Phibunsongkhram giving an ultranationalism speech to the crowds at the Ministry of Defence opposite Swasti Sopha gate of Grand Palace in 1940.

First premiership[edit]

On 16 December 1938, Phibunsongkhram replaced Phraya Phahol as the Prime Minister of Thailand and as the Commander of the Royal Siamese Army. Phibunsongkhram became the de facto dictator of Thailand and established a military dictatorship, consolidating his position by rewarding several members of his own army clique with influential positions in his government.

After the revolution of 1932, the Thai governments of Phraya Phahol were impressed by the success of the March on Rome of Benito Mussolini's Fascist movement in Italy. Phibunsongkhram also seemed to be an admirer of the Italian fascism and sought to imitate the fascist Italian regime's cinema propaganda, valued as one of the most powerful propaganda instruments of Italian political power, the main purpose was to promote the ideologies of nationalism and militarism, strengthening unity and harmony of the state, and also glorifying the policy of ruralisation in Italy and abroad. With the pro-fascist leanings of Thai political leaders, Italian propaganda films including newsreels, documentaries, short films, and full-length feature films, such as Istituto Luce Cinecittà, were shown in Thailand during the interwar period. Phibunsongkhram adopted the Italian-style fascist salute, modeled on the Roman salute, and he used it during speeches; the salute was not compulsory in Thailand, and it was opposed by Luang Wichitwathakan and many cabinet members as they believed it inappropriate for Thai culture. Together with Wichitwathakan, the Minister of Propaganda, he built a leadership cult in 1938 and thereafter. Photographs of Phibun were to be found everywhere, and those of the abdicated King Prajadhipok were banned, his quotes appeared in newspapers, were plastered on billboards and were repeated over the radio.^{[citation needed]}

Thai Cultural Revolution[edit]

Thai poster from the Phibun era, showing prohibited "uncivilised" dress on the left, and proper Western dress on the right.

Phibunsongkhram immediately prioritized Thai nationalism to the point of ultranationalism, and to support this policy he launched a series of major reforms known as the Thai Cultural Revolution to the increase the pace of modernisation in Thailand. With the goal "Aimed to uplift the national spirit and moral code of the nation and instilling progressive tendencies and a newness into Thai life", a series of cultural mandates were issued by the government; these mandates encouraged all Thais to salute the flag in public places, know the new national anthem, and use the standardized Thai language, not regional dialects or languages. People were encouraged to adopt Western attire as opposed to traditional clothing styles. Similarly, people were encouraged to eat with a fork and spoon, rather than with their hands as was customary in Thai culture at the time. Phibun saw these policies as necessary, in the interest of progressivism, to change Thailand in the minds of foreigners from an undeveloped country into a civilised and modern one.^[5]

Phibunsongkhram's administration encouraged economic nationalism and espoused staunchly anti-Chinese sentiment despite his own Chinese ancestry. Sinophobic policies were imposed by the government to reduce the economic power of Siam's Chinese minority and encouraged the Thai people to purchase as many Thai products as possible. In a speech in 1938, Luang Wichitwathakan, himself also of Chinese ancestry, followed Rama VI's book Jews of the East in comparing the Chinese in Siam to the Jews in Germany, who at the time were harshly repressed.

On 24 June 1939, Phibunsongkhram changed the country's official English name from "Siam" to "Thailand" under Wichitwathakan's initiative; the name Siam was an exonym of unknown and probably foreign origin, which conflicted with Phibunsongkhram's nationalist policies.

In 1941, in the midst of World War II, Phibunsongkhram decreed 1 January as the official start of the new year instead of the traditional Songkran date on 13 April.

Franco-Thai War[edit]

Phibunsongkhram inspecting troops during the Franco-Thai War

Phibunsongkhram exploited the Fall of France in June 1940 and the Japanese invasion of French Indochina in September 1940 to advance Thai interests in French Indochina following a border dispute with France. Phibunsongkhram believed Thailand could recover territories ceded to France by King Rama V because the French would avoid armed confrontation or offer serious resistance. Thailand fought against Vichy France over the disputed areas from October 1940 to May 1941; the technologically and numerically superior Thai force invaded French Indochina and attacked military targets in numerous major cities. Despite Thai successes, the French tactical victory at the Battle of Ko Chang prompted intervention from the Japanese, who mediated an armistice where the French were coerced to cede the disputed territories to Thailand.

Alliance with Japan[edit]

Phibunsongkhram and the Thai public viewed the outcome of the Franco-Thai War as a victory, but it resulted in the rapidly expanding Japanese gaining the right to occupy French Indochina. Although Phibunsongkhram was ardently pro-Japanese, he now shared a border with them and felt threatened with a potential Japanese invasion. Phibunsongkhram's administration also realised that Thailand would have to fend for itself if a Japanese invasion came, considering its deteriorating relationships with the other major Western powers in the area.^{[citation needed]}

When the Japanese invaded Thailand on 8 December 1941, (because of the international date line this occurred an hour and a half before the attack on Pearl Harbor), Phibunsongkhram was reluctantly forced to order a general ceasefire after just one day of resistance and allow the Japanese armies to use the country as a base for their invasions of the British colonies of Burma and Malaya.^[6][7] Hesitancy, however, gave way to enthusiasm after the Japanese rolled their way through the Malayan Campaign in a "Bicycle Blitzkrieg" with surprisingly little resistance.^[8][9] On 21 December Phibunsongkhram signed a military alliance with Japan; the following month, on 25 January 1942, Phibunsongkhram declared war on Britain and the United States. South Africa and New Zealand declared war on Thailand on the same day. Australia followed soon after.^[10] Phibunsongkhram purged all who opposed the Japanese alliance from his government. Pridi Phanomyong was appointed acting regent for the absent King Ananda Mahidol, while Direk Jayanama, the prominent foreign minister who had advocated continued resistance against the Japanese, was later sent to Tokyo as an ambassador; the United States considered Thailand to be a puppet state of Japan and refused to declare war on them. When the Allies were victorious, United States blocked British efforts to impose a punitive peace.^[11]

Removal[edit]

In 1944, as the Japanese neared closer to defeat and the underground anti-Japanese Free Thai Movement steadily grew in strength, the National Assembly ousted Phibunsongkhram as Prime Minister and his six-year reign as the military commander-in-chief was at an end. Phibunsongkhram's resignation was partly forced by two grandiose plans: one was to relocate the capital from Bangkok to a remote site in the jungle near Phetchabun in north central Thailand, and another was to build a "Buddhist city" in Saraburi. Announced at a time of severe economic difficulty, these ideas turned many government officers against him.^[12] After his resignation, Phibunsongkhram went to stay at the army headquarters in Lopburi.

Khuang Aphaiwong replaced Phibunsongkhram as Prime Minister, ostensibly to continue relations with the Japanese, but, in reality, to secretly assist the Free Thai Movement. At the war's end, Phibunsongkhram was put on trial at Allied insistence on charges of having committed war crimes, mainly that of collaborating with the Axis powers. However, he was acquitted amid intense pressure as public opinion was still favourable to him, as he was thought to have done his best to protect Thai interests. Phibunsongkhram's alliance with Japan had Thailand take advantage of Japanese support to expand Thai territory into Malaya and Burma.^[13]

Second premiership[edit]

Plaek Phibunsongkhram at Hyde Park, New York, 1955

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In November 1947, Royal Thai Army units under the control of Phibunsongkhram known as the Coup Group carried out the Siamese coup d'état of 1947 which forced then-Prime Minister Thawal Thamrong Navaswadhi to resign; the rebels installed Khuang Abhaiwongse again as prime minister as the military coup risked international disapproval. Pridi Phanomyong was persecuted but was aided by British and US intelligence officers, and thus managed to escape the country. On 8 April 1948, Phibunsongkhram assumed the position of Prime Minister after the military forced Khuang out of office.

Phibunsongkhram's second premiership was notably different, abandoning the fascist styling and rhetoric that characterised his first premiership, and instead promoted a façade of democracy; the beginning of the Cold War saw Phibunsongkhram align Thailand with the anti-communist camp, and received large quantities of US aid following Thailand's entry into the Korean War as part of the United Nations Command's multi-national allied force against the communist forces of North Korea and the People's Republic of China. Phibunsongkhram's anti-Chinese campaign was resumed, with the government restricting Chinese immigration and undertaking various measures to restrict economic domination of the Thai market by those of Chinese descent. Chinese schools and associations were once again shut down. Despite open pro-Western and anti-Chinese policies, in the late-1950s Phibunsongkhram arranged to send two of the children of Sang Phathanothai, his closest advisor, to China with the intention of establishing a backdoor channel for dialogue between China and Thailand. Sirin Phathanothai, aged eight, and her brother, aged twelve, were sent to be brought up under the assistants of Premier Zhou Enlai as his wards. Sirin later wrote The Dragon's Pearl, an autobiography telling her experiences growing up in the 1950s and 1960s among the leaders of China.

Phibunsongkhram was reportedly thrilled by the democracy and freedom of speech he had witnessed during a long trip abroad to the United States and Europe in 1955. Following the example of Hyde Park in London, he set up a "Speakers' Corner" at the Sanam Luang in Bangkok. Phibunsongkhram began to democratize Thailand by allowing the formation of new political parties, amnestied political opponents, and planned free elections. Phibunsongkhram founded and became chairman of his own new political party, the Seri Manangkhasila Party, which was dominated by the most influential in the military and the government; the Employment Act of January 1957 legalized trade unions, limited weekly working hours, regulated holidays and overtime, and instituted health and safety regulations. The International Workers' Day became a public holiday.

Decline[edit]

Phibunsongkhram's second premiership was longer but plagued with political instability, and there were numerous attempts to oppose his rule and remove him from power. Unlike his first premiership, Phibunsongkhram faced noticeable opposition from people connected to the Free Thai Movement due to his alliance with the Japanese, including from within the military. Additionally, Phibunsongkhram was indebted to the powerful Coup Group that had returned him to power.

On 1 October 1948, the unsuccessful Army General Staff Plot was launched by members of the army general staff to topple his government, but failed when discovered by the Coup Group; as a result, more than fifty army and reserve officers and several prominent supporters of Pridi Phanomyong were arrested.

On 26 February 1949, the Palace Rebellion was another failed coup attempt against Phibunsongkhram to restore Pridi Phanomyong by occupying the Grand Palace in Bangkok and declaring a new government led by Direk Jayanama, a close associate of Pridi; the civilian rebels were quickly ousted from the palace, but fighting broke out between military rebels and loyalists which lasted for over a week.

On 29 June 1951, Phibunsongkhram was attending a ceremony aboard the Manhattan, a US dredge boat, when he was taken hostage by a group of Royal Thai Navy officers, who then quickly confined him aboard the warship Sri Ayutthaya. Negotiations between the government and the coup organizers swiftly broke down, leading to violent street fighting in Bangkok between the navy and the army, which was supported by the Royal Thai Air Force. Phibunsongkhram was able to escape and swim back to shore when the Sri Ayutthaya was bombed by the air force, and with their hostage gone, the navy were forced to lay down their arms.

On 29 November 1951, the Silent Coup was staged by the Coup Group and it consolidated the military's hold on the country, it reinstated the Constitution of 1932, which effectively eliminated the Senate, established a unicameral legislature composed equally of elected and government-appointed members, and allowed serving military officers to supplement their commands with important ministerial portfolios.

On 13 November 1956, Thailand's Criminal Code BE 2499 was signed into law by King Bhumibol Adulyadej, but Phibunsongkhram countersigned the code.

1957 coup and exile[edit]

In February 1957, public opinion turned against Phibunsongkhram at the end of his second term when his party was suspected of fraudulent practices during an election, including the intimidation of the opposition, buying votes, and electoral fraud. In addition, critics of Phibunsongkhram accused him of a lack of respect for the Thai monarchy, as the anti-aristocratic prime minister had always sought to limit the role of the monarchy to a constitutional minimum and had taken on religious functions that traditionally belonged to the monarch. For example, Phibunsongkhram led the celebrations of the 2500th anniversary of Buddhism in 1956/57 instead of the King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who was openly critical of Phibunsongkhram. On 16 September 1957, Phibunsongkhram was eventually overthrown in a coup d'etat by members of the Royal Thai Army under the command of Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat, who had earlier sworn to be Phibun's most loyal subordinate. Sarit was supported by many royalists who wanted to regain a foothold, and there were rumors that the United States was "deeply involved" in the coup.^[14]

Phibunsongkhram was then forced into exile after the coup, first fleeing to Cambodia, but later settled in Japan after Sarit's new regime rejected his requests to allow him to return to Thailand. In 1960, Phibunsongkhram briefly travelled to India to be a monk in the Buddhist temple in Bodhgaya.

Death[edit]

Phibunsongkhram died on 11 June 1964 from heart failure while in exile in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. After his death, Phibunsongkhram's ashes were transferred to Thailand in an urn and decorated with military honors in Wat Phra Sri Mahathat (also called "The Temple of Democracy") he had founded in Bang Khen.

Honours[edit]

Royal decorations of Thailand[edit]

Plaek Phibunsongkhram received the following royal decorations in the Honours System of Thailand:^[15]

• 1911 - King Rama VI Coronation Medal
• 1925 - King Rama VII Coronation Medal
• 1932 - 150 Years Commemoration of Bangkok Medal
• 1934 - Dushdi Mala - Military
• 1937 - Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand
• 1938 - King Rama VIII Royal Cypher Medal
• 1940 - Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of The Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant
• 1941 - Victory Medal - Indochina
• 1941 - Knight of The Ancient and Auspicious Order of the Nine Gems
• 1942 - Knight Grand Cross (First Class) of The Most Illustrious Order of Chula Chom Klao
• 1942 - The Ratana Varabhorn Order of Merit
• 1943 - Medal for Service Rendered in the Interior (Asia)
• 1943 - Victory Medal - World War II
• 1943 - Dushdi Mala - Civilian
• 1944 - Bravery Medal - World War II
• 1956 - Bhumibol Adulyadej King Rama IX Royal Cypher Medal, First Class
• 1957 - Border Service Medal

Foreign honours[edit]

• 1942 - 1st Class, Grand Cordon Order of the Rising Sun
• 1955 - Raja of the Order of Sikatuna
• Grand Cross Gold with Star of the Order of the German Eagle
• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
• Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus

Military rank[edit]

• Field Marshal, Admiral of the Fleet and Marshal of the Royal Thai Air Force^[16]

Volunteer Defense Corps of Thailand rank[edit]

• Volunteer Defense Corps General^[17]

Academic rank[edit]

• 1939 Adjunct Professor of Thammasat University^[18]

See also[edit]

• History of Thailand (1932–1973)
• Saharat Thai Doem
• Nitya Pibulsonggram
• Ramwong
• Thai cultural mandates

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• Baker, Chris; Phongpaichit, Pasuk (2009). A History of Thailand (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781139194877. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
• Wyatt, David K. Thailand: A Short History, Yale University Press, 2004 ISBN 0-300-08475-7

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Plaek Pibulsonggram.

• Duncan Stearn:A Slice of Thai History: The Japanese invasion of Thailand, 8 December 1941 [1] (part one) [2] (part two) [3] (part three)
• Kopkuea Suwannathat-Phian (1989). Foreign Policies of Phibunsongkhram Government: 1938–1944 (pdf) (in Thai). Bangkok: Thammasat University Press. ISBN 9745724165.