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General
Suchinda Kraprayoon
MPCh MWM ThChW
General Suchinda Kraprayoon MPCh MWM ThChW
สุจินดา คราประยูร
19th Prime Minister of Thailand
	In office; 7 April 1992 – 24 May 1992
Monarch	Bhumibol Adulyadej
Deputy	Meechai Ruchuphan; Narong Wongwan; Somboon Rahong; Montree Pongpanich; Samak Sundaravej;
Preceded by	Anand Panyarachun
Succeeded by	Meechai Ruchuphan (acting)
Minister of Defence
	In office; 17 April 1992 – 24 May 1992
Prime Minister	himself
Deputy	Chatchom Kanlong
Preceded by	Praphat Kritsanajun
Succeeded by	Banjob Bunnag
Supreme Commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces
	In office; 1 October 1991 – 4 April 1992
Minister	Praphat Kritsanajun
Preceded by	Sunthorn Kongsompong
Succeeded by	Kaset Rojananil
Commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army
	In office; 29 April 1990 – 7 April 1992
Preceded by	Chavalit Yongchaiyudh
Succeeded by	Isarapong Noonpakdee
Personal details
Born	6 August 1933 (age 91); Thonburi, Krung Thep, Siam (now Bangkok Noi, Bangkok, Thailand)
Spouse	Wannee Noonpakdee
Children	2
Alma mater	Royal Military Academy
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Thailand
Branch/service	Royal Thai Army
Years of service	1953–1992
Rank	General; Admiral; Air Chief Marshal;
Commands	Commander-in-Chief; Royal Thai Armed Forces;
Battles/wars	Vietnam War; Communist insurgency in Thailand;
Awards	Victory Medal - Vietnam War, with flames; Freemen Safeguarding Medal (First Class); Border Service Medal; Chakra Mala Medal;

Suchinda Kraprayoon (Thai: สุจินดา คราประยูร, RTGS: Suchinda Khraprayun; born 6 August 1933)^[1] 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.

Early life and education

Suchinda, son of Juang and Sompong Kraprayoon, was born on 6 August 1933, in Thonburi, Siam, and is of mixed Chinese^[2]^[3]^[4] and Mon descent.^[5]

Suchinda first attended Wat Rajabopit School and later Amnuayslip School. He studied medicine at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok for 12 months before entering the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy. He graduated from Class 5 of the Academy, of which many students would join the National Peace Keeping Council. He also attended the US Army Command and General Staff Course at the Artillery Regiment, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and the US Army Command and General Staff Course at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Military career

Suchinda returned to Thailand in 1953 to serve as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Thai Army. On 25 January 1958 he became Troop Leader in an artillery infantry regiment. He was gradually promoted and given more responsibilities, including:^[6]

Lecturer at Army Command and General Staff College
Director-General of Operations Department
Assisting Chief of Staff (Army Operations) of the Royal Thai Army
Deputy Chief of Staff of the Royal Thai Army
Sub-Commander of the Royal Thai Army
Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army (29 April 1990)
Commander-in-Chief of the Supreme Command Headquarters (1 October 1991)

Coup, NPKC and premiership

Suchinda was a leader of the National Peace Keeping Council (NPKC), which conducted the 1991 Thai coup d'état that ousted the elected government of Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan on 23 February 1991. The NPKC installed former diplomat Anand Panyarachun as prime minister.

After the general election on 22 March 1992, five parties (Rassadorn, Justice Unity, Social Action, Thai Citizen, Chart Thai) designated Suchinda as the prime minister. His appointment as prime minister on 7 April 1992 resulted in large protests, culminating in a general curfew and military deployment in Bangkok. In the event known as Black May, hundreds of people are believed to have died when soldiers opened fire on unarmed students and demonstrators during the protests.^[7] Further escalation was avoided by the intervention of King Bhumibol.

Suchinda resigned from the premiership on 24 May 1992. The Deputy Prime Minister, Meechai Ruchuphan, became caretaker prime minister for an interim period until the new government was assigned. He was succeeded by Anand Panyarachun.

Post-downfall

After resigning, General Suchinda was appointed Chairman of Telecom Holdings, the holding company of Telecom Asia.^[8] Telecom Asia was awarded an unprecedented concession to build 2 million telephone lines in Bangkok after the NPKC seized power.

Personal life

Suchinda is married to Khunying Wannee Kraprayoon (née Noonpakdee), sister of Isarapong Noonpakdee, Suchinda's classmate from military academy. The couple has two sons: Jerdwut Kraprayoon, currently an advisor to the Royal Thai Army, and Janewit “Jack” Kraprayoon.

Honours

1989 - Knight Grand Cordon of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant
1988 - Knight Grand Cordon of the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand
1992 - Knight Grand Commander of the Most Illustrious Order of Chula Chom Klao
1973 - Victory Medal - Vietnam War, with flames
1988 - Freeman Safeguarding Medal - 1st Class
1970 - Border Service Medal
1968 - Chakra Mala Medal
1989 - First Class of Boy Scout Citation Medal of Vajira
1991 - King Rama IX Royal Cypher Medal 3rd Class

References

^ Profile of Suchinda Kraprayoon
^ (in Chinese) 泰国华裔总理不忘“本” Archived 22 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine;
^ (in Thai) บิ๊กสรรพากรแท็คทีม ยืนความเห็นเคลียร์สตง. สู้ข้อครหาภาษีหุ้นชินฯ; พลิกแฟ้ม NGO ตอบคำถาม เงิน - ผลประโยชน์เพื่อใคร?? Archived 7 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine
^ [泰国] 洪林, 黎道纲主编 (April 2006). 泰国华侨华人研究. 香港社会科学出版社有限公司. p. 185. ISBN 962-620-127-4.
^ The days before ceasefire between SLORC AND NMSP on 25 June 1995^[usurped]
^ "General Suchinda Kraprayoon". soc.go.th. Archived from the original on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
^ "You Wonder What he Knows". Asiaweek. 2000. Archived from the original on 22 March 2006. Retrieved 4 May 2006.
^ Glen Lewis, The Asian Economic Crisis and Thai Communications Policy Archived 19 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Thai army chief gets Armed Forces award". New Straits Times. 13 February 1991. p. 2.
^ [1] ^{[bare URL PDF]}
^ [2] ^{[bare URL PDF]}
^ [3] ^{[bare URL PDF]}

Political offices
Preceded by Anand Panyarachun	Prime Minister of Thailand 1992	Succeeded by Meechai Ruchuphan
Preceded by Chavalit Yongchaiyudh	Commander-in-Chief of Royal Thai Army 1990–1992	Succeeded by Isarapong Noonpakdee