Plaek Pibulsonggram

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Field Marshal Plaek Pibulsonggram (July 14, 1897–June 11, 1964) (Thai แปลก พิบูลสงคราม or ป. พิบูลสงคราม, lastname sometimes spelled Phibunsongkhram, Phibul Songkhram or Pibul Songgram) was Prime Minister and military dictator of Thailand from 1938 to 1944 and 1948 to 1957.

Born Plaek Khittasangkha on July 14, 1897, he entered the Artillery Corps in 1914 upon graduation from the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy. Following advanced studies in France, the honorary title of Luang Pibulsonggram was bestowed upon him by King Prajadhipok in 1928. (He was later to take Pibulsonggram as his surname.)

One of the leaders of the military wing of the People's Party which overthrew the absolute monarchy in 1932, Lieutenant Colonel Pibulsonggra rose to prominence as a popular man-on-horseback when he successfully crushed a royalist revolt the following year.

In 1938 Pibulsonggram replaced Phraya Phahol as Prime Minister, and consolidated his position by removing all possible opposition---members of the royal family, elected members of the Assembly, bureaucrats, and army rivals were arrested and executed in what were to be the first political executions in Siam in over a century.

As Prime Minister, he began increasing the pace of modernisation in Thailand. By clever manipulation of the mass media, Pibulsonggram fashioned a semi-fascist regime with ultra-nationalism as its central theme. Together with Luang Wichitwathakan, the Minister of Propaganda, he built up the cult of the leader throughout 1939 and thereafter. Photographs of Pibulsonggram was to be found everywhere (in turn, those of the ex-King Prajadhipok were banned), his slogans were appeared in newspapers, were plastered on billboards and repeated over the radio.

"Aimed to uplifting 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 required that all Thais were to salute the flag, know the new national anthem (written by Wichitwathakarn), and use the national (i.e. Bangkok) language, as opposed to local dialects. People were forbidden to go outdoors without wearing hats, while they were encouraged to dress along modern (western) fashions. In Pibulsonggram's views, all this was necessary for Thailand to become more modernised, in the interest of progress and civilisation.

In 1939, Pibulsonggram changed the country's name from Siam to Thailand.

His regime also embarked upon a course of economic nationalism, in which the Thai people were to support only Thai products and therefore destroy the Chinese hold on the market. Anti-Chinese policies were also undertaken; indeed, in a speech in 1938 Luang Wichitwarhakarn compared the Chinese in Siam to the Jews in Germany.

While ardently pro-Japanese at the beginning, Pibulsonggram and his regime soon considerably but cordially distanced itself from Japan following the aftermath of the French-Thai War, when Japanese territorial ambitions were skillfully realised during the peace talks. (The Japanese gained the right to occupy French Indo-China.) With war looming on the horizon, Pibulsonggram quickly deduced that the Japanese would be the aggressors. However, the government also realised that Thailand would stand alone when the Japanese onslaught came, considering the deteriorating relationships with the major Western powers in the area.

When war did come on December 8, 1941, a hesitant Pibulsonggram was reluctantly forced to order a general ceasefire and to allow the Japanese armies to use the country as a springboard for the invasions of Burma and Malaya. However, hesitancy gave way to enthusiasm when the Japanese surprisingly blitzkrieged their way through Malaya. On December 12, a military alliance with Japan was concluded. A month later, on January 25 1942, Thailand declared war on the United States and Great Britain. Those who opposed the declaration were forced the from government; Pridi Phanomyong was appointed regent for the absent King Ananda Mahidol, while Direk Chaiyanam, the prominent Foreign Minister who had advocated resistance against the Japanese, ironically became the ambassador to Tokyo.

When the tide finally turned against Japan, Pibulsonggram was forced to resign by the pro-Seri Thai Assembly, thus ending his six-year period as military strongman. Pibulsonggram went to reside at army headquarters in Lopburi, where he bided his time. Meanwhile, Khuang Abhaiwongse was made prime minister ostensibly to continue relations with the Japanese, while at the same time secretly assist the Seri Thai underground.

At the war's end, Pibulsonggram was put on trial by the Allies on charges of having committed war crimes, mainly that of collaborating with the enemy. However, the charges were dropped and he got off due to intense public pressure. (Public opinion was favourable to Pibulsonggram, since he was thought to have done his best to protect Thai interests).

In November 1947, army units under the control of Pibulsonggram carried out a coup which forced the Thamrong government to step down. The hapless Khuang was again installed as prime minister as the military coup risked international disapproval. On April 8 1948, the military forced Khuang out of office and Pibulsonggram himself assumed the Premiership once more.

Pibulsonggram again started his term of office with maneuvres to consolidate power; civilian rivals and members of the opposition were arrested and executed. Among the victims of the death squads of the notorious Police General Phao Sriyanond was the civilian assemblyman and one-time noted Seri Thai leader from Roi Et, Tiang Sirikhanth.

But instead of the fascism that characterised his first government, Pibulsonggram now built for his regime a facade of democracy. American aid was received in large quantities following Thailand's entry into the Korean War in the UN's multi-national force.

Pibulsonggram's anti-Chinese campaign was resumed, with the government halting Chinese immigration and undertaking various measures to restrict Chinese economic domination of the Thai market. Chinese schools and associations were once again shut down. Despite open pro-western and anti-chinese policies, in the late 1950s Pibulsonggram arranged to send to China two of the children of Sang Phathanothai, his closest advisor, with the intention of establishing a backdoor channel for dialogue between China and Thailand; the girl aged 8 and her brother aged 12 were sent to be brought up under the auspices of Premier Zhou Enlai as his wards.

On June 29, 1951, Pibulsonggram was attending a ceremony aboard the USS Manhattan when he was taken hostage by a group of naval officers, who were quick to confine him on board the battleship Sri Ayutthaya. Negotiations between the government and the coup group swiftly broke down, leading to heavy street fighting in Bangkok between the navy and the army, which was supported by the air force. Pibulsonggram was able to swim back ashore when the Sri Ayutthaya was bombed by the air force; their hostage gone, the sailors and marines were forced to lay down their arms.

At the end of his term, suspicions of fraudulent practices during an election came up. The resulting unrest led to a coup by Field Marshal Sarit Dhanaraj in 1957, after which Pibulsonggram was forced into exile in Japan. He remained there until his death in 1964.

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