Suchinda Kraprayoon is a Thai retired army general and politician. As the commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army (1990–1992) he led the 1991 Thai coup d'état in February and was a member of the junta called "National Peace Keeping Council". A year after the coup, on 7 April 1992 he was appointed Prime Minister of Thailand. This sparked mass protests that were violently suppressed during Black May which finally led to his resignation on 24 May 1992.

The 1991 Thai coup d'état was a military coup against the democratic Chatichai Choonhavan government, carried out by Thai military leaders on 23 February. Although the figure head was Sunthorn Kongsompong, there was a military influence from military leaders, Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, Suchinda Kraprayoon, and Kaset Rojananil in the conflict. Chalerm Yubamrung, a politician, was also involved in the beginning of the conflict which began since 1990 but reached the peak in February 1991 due to a strong executive order of Chatichai. Later in May 1992, protesters calling for democracy were massacred by the military regime, known as 'Black May.'