- Also called:
- Pibul Songgram
- Original name:
- Plaek Khittasangkha
- Born:
- July 14, 1897, near Bangkok, Thailand
- Died:
- June 12, 1964, Tokyo, Japan (aged 66)
- Title / Office:
- prime minister (1948-1957), Thailand
- prime minister (1938-1944), Thailand
Luang Phibunsongkhram
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Who was Luang Phibunsongkhram?
Luang Phibunsongkhram (1897–1964) was a field marshal and premier of Thailand from 1938–44 and again from 1948–57. In 1932, he helped organize a revolution that forced King Prajadhipok to grant a constitution. Rising to prominence, he became defense minister in 1934, strengthening the army and promoting military values.
Becoming premier in 1938, he renamed Siam to Thailand in 1939 and mobilized the country with ultranationalist views. After Japan invaded Thailand in 1941, he allied with them and declared war on the U.S. and Great Britain in 1942. His government collapsed in July 1944, but he returned as premier in 1948, focusing on containing communism and allying Thailand with the West. Ousted in 1957 due to corruption, he fled to Tokyo, where he died.
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What was Luang Phibunsongkhram's role in Thailand's government?
Luang Phibunsongkhram, field marshal and premier of Thailand, played a significant role in the country's government from 1938-1944 and again from 1948-1957. Rising to prominence after the 1932 revolution, he became premier in 1938 and worked to mobilize Thailand, then known as Siam, while espousing ultranationalist views. During World War II, he allied with Japan, declaring war on the United States and Great Britain in 1942.
After the war, Phibunsongkhram returned as premier in 1948, focusing on containing communism and suppressing Chinese immigrants. He supported UN action during the Korean War and helped establish the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) in 1954, aligning Thailand with the West in the Cold War. He was eventually ousted by military colleagues due to corruption and inefficiency.
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During which years did he serve as Thailand's premier?
Luang Phibunsongkhram, a field marshal, served as the premier of Thailand during 1938–1944 and again from 1948–1957. Rising to prominence after the 1932 revolution, he became premier in 1938 and initiated ultranationalist policies, changing the country's name from Siam to Thailand in 1939. During World War II, he allied with Japan, but his government collapsed in 1944 as the war turned against Japan. He regained the premiership in 1948, focusing on containing communism and supporting UN action during the Korean War. In 1954, he allied Thailand with the West by helping establish the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). He was later ousted by military colleagues due to corruption and inefficiency and then fled to Tokyo.
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What changes did Luang Phibunsongkhram make to Thailand when he was in power?
Luang Phibunsongkhram, Thailand's premier at different times between 1938 and 1957, implemented significant changes in the country. In 1939, he changed the country's name from Siam to Thailand and adopted ultranationalist and irredentist views. After becoming premier in 1948, he focused on containing communism, suppressing the economic activities of Chinese immigrants, and cooperating with British forces against communist guerrillas.
During his time as premier, Phibunsongkhram also modernized the Thai army with the help of Sarit Thanarat. In 1954, he allied Thailand with the West by establishing the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) in Bangkok. He also promoted modern habits, such as wearing shoes and hats, and encouraged the Thai people to follow their "Leader" in an authoritarian manner.
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How did his leadership affect Thailand during World War II?
As premier and military dictator of Thailand, Luang Phibunsongkhram's leadership significantly shaped the country's course during World War II. In 1939, he changed the country's name from Siam to Thailand and pursued a nationalistic policy, modeling it after Japan's warrior code wiratham.
Aligning with Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Phibunsongkhram permitted Japanese troops passage through Thailand and declared war on the United States and Great Britain in January 1942. Although Thailand gained some territories through this alliance, its economy suffered, causing a decline in public confidence in Phibunsongkhram. By July 1944, he was forced to resign amidst growing resistance from the Free Thai Movement.
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What is Luang Phibunsongkhram's legacy in modern Thailand?
Luang Phibunsongkhram, Thailand's premier (1938-44, 1948-57), is associated with the rise of authoritarian military governments in Thailand.
After helping to instate a constitutional monarchy in 1932, Phibunsongkhram strengthened the army and promoted military values. As premier, he espoused ultranationalist views, changed Siam to Thailand in 1939, and allied with Japan during World War II. After the war, he returned as premier in 1948 and worked to contain communism, cooperating with campaigns against communist guerrillas and supporting UN action in the Korean War. In 1954, he allied Thailand with the West by helping establish the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO).
Massive financial support from the United States during his premiership laid the foundation for an economic boom in Thailand that lasted until the late 1990s. However, his government was ousted in 1957 due to corruption and inefficiency.
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Luang Phibunsongkhram (born July 14, 1897, near Bangkok, Thailand—died June 12, 1964, Tokyo, Japan) was a field marshal and premier of Thailand in 1938–44 and 1948–57, who was associated with the rise of authoritarian military governments in Thailand.
He was educated at the royal military academy, and in 1914 he entered the Siamese artillery corps. In 1924–27 he took advanced military training in France, where he became involved with Thai students who were plotting the overthrow of the absolute monarchy. On returning to Bangkok, he served as a major on the army general staff, and in 1928 he received the title by which he was known thereafter, Luang Phibunsongkhram, which he later took as his family name.
After helping organize the bloodless revolution of 1932, or Promoters Revolution, that forced King Prajadhipok to grant a constitution, Phibunsongkhram rose rapidly in the new, military-dominated government and came to public prominence by suppressing the 1933 rebellion of Prince Boworadet. In 1934 he became minister of defense and worked both to strengthen the army and to popularize military values in the fashion of contemporary Italy and Germany. On becoming premier in December 1938, he worked to mobilize the country (whose name he changed from Siam to Thailand in 1939), espousing ultranationalist and irredentist views. After the fall of France he provoked war with French Indochina (1940–41) to regain territories in Laos and Cambodia lost by treaty at the beginning of the century. Already pro-Japanese, when Japan invaded Thailand on Dec. 8, 1941, he quickly concluded an alliance with Japan. He declared war on the United States and Great Britain on Jan. 25, 1942. As field marshal during the war he promoted such modern habits as wearing shoes and hats and exhorted the Thai to follow their “Leader” in a highly authoritarian fashion. Though technically an ally of Japan, Thailand increasingly was treated as an occupied state. A strong, anti-Japanese Free Thai Movement developed, and, when the war began to turn against Japan, Phibunsongkhram’s government collapsed (July 1944) and a civilian government took power, controlled from behind the scenes by Pridi Phanomyong.
Postwar civilian governments lacked sufficient public support to maintain public order and economic stability, and they were discredited by the suspicious death of King Ananda Mahidol in 1946. The army seized the government in 1947, and Phibunsongkhram returned as premier in 1948. Almost immediately he commenced efforts to contain the spread of communism in Thailand. He suppressed the economic development of Chinese immigrants in Thailand in an attempt to restrict those who were members of the Chinese Communist Party, and he cooperated with the British-Malay campaigns against communist guerrillas in Thailand-Malaya border areas. During the Korean War he supported UN action by dispatching an expeditionary force of 4,000 troops. In 1954 he further allied Thailand to the West in the Cold War by helping establish the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), with its headquarters in Bangkok. After a brief experiment with democracy in 1956–57, when political parties were allowed and free speech encouraged, he was ousted by military colleagues who had tired of the corruption and inefficiency of his government. He then fled to Tokyo, where he lived until his death.