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Thanat Khoman

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Thanat Khoman
ถนัด คอมันตร์
Thanat Khomanc.1975
Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand
In office
11 March 1981 – 19 March 1983
Prime MinisterPrem Tinsulanonda
In office
3 March 1980 – 28 February 1981
Prime MinisterPrem Tinsulanonda
Leader of theDemocrat Party
In office
26 May 1979 – 3 April 1982
Preceded bySeni Pramoj
Succeeded byBhichai Rattakul
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
20 February 1959 – 17 November 1971
Prime Minister
Preceded byPrinceWan Waithayakon
Succeeded byThanom Kittikachorn
Personal details
Born(1914-05-09)9 May 1914
Bangkok,Siam
Died3 March 2016(2016-03-03)(aged 101)
Bangkok,Thailand
NationalityThai
Political partyDemocrat
Other political
affiliations		Free Thai Movement
SpouseMolee Khoman
Alma mater
Military service
AllegianceThailand
Branch/serviceRoyal Thai Army
Years of service1963–2016[citation needed]
RankSenior Colonel[2]

Thanat Khoman(also Thanad;Thai:ถนัด คอมันตร์;RTGS:Thanat Khoman,9 May 1914 – 3 March 2016)[3][4]was a Thai diplomat and politician. He was foreign minister from 1959 to 1971, leader of theDemocrat Partyfrom 1979 to 1982, anddeputy prime ministerfrom 1980 to 1983. He died at the age of 101 on 3 March 2016, a couple of months shy of his 102nd birthday.[5]

Early life[edit]

Thanat was born inBangkokand came from aThai Chinesefamily. His father, Phraya Phiphaksa Satayathipatai (Po Khoman) was one of Siam's first law school graduates and a judge on theSupreme Court of Thailand.Thanat attendedAssumption Collegein Bangkok, before he went to France, graduating from a Bordeauxlycée.Supplied with a scholarship from the Thai foreign ministry, he continued his studies inBordeauxandParis,earning degrees from theInstitute of Higher International Studies(IHEI) andSciences Poin 1939, as well as adoctor of lawdegree from theUniversity of Parisin 1940.[6][7]

Diplomatic career[edit]

After his return to Thailand, Thanat was obliged to join the diplomatic service, as the foreign ministry had financed his studies. DuringWorld War IIhe was stationed as a second secretary at the Thai embassy inTokyofrom 1941 to 1943. During this time, the Thai-Japanese agreement of 1942 was concluded, allowing Japanese troops to march through Thailand and use it as a base for attacks onBritish BurmaandMalayaand leading to Thailand's entry into the war on the Axis side. However, Thanat disagreed with what was perceived as a virtual Japanese occupation of Thailand and joined theSeri Thai( "Free Thai" ) resistance movement that was supported by the BritishForce 136and the AmericanOSS.In February 1945, he was a member of a secret delegation to the Allied South East Asia Command inKandy, Ceylon.[8][9]

After theSecond World War,he held a number of diplomatic posts, includingchargé d'affairesat the Thai embassies inWashington, D.C.,andDelhi.[8]In 1950 he was chosen as the chairman of theUN Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East(ECAFE) inNew York City.From 1952 to 1957 he served as the deputy to the Permanent Representative from Thailand to the United Nations. In 1957 he was promoted to the post of the Ambassador of Thailand to the United States.

Political career[edit]

Thanat Khoman with United States PresidentJohn F. Kennedyat theWhite House,1961

On 10 February 1959, he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand in the government of authoritarian Prime MinisterSarit Thanarat.His major contribution was in promoting regional reconciliation and cooperation inSoutheast Asia.He was a participant inSEATOtalks in 1961.[10]In March 1962 he signed a joint communiqué withUnited States Secretary of StateDean Ruskin which the United States promised Thailand support and defense against potential communist aggression. Despite being only an informal protocol, it was celebrated in Thailand as a bilateral pact of the two countries, dubbed theThanat–Rusk Communiqué.[11][12]

In the 1960s Thanat played a key role in mediating between Indonesia and Malaysia. The choice of Bangkok as the founding place of theAssociation of Southeast Asian Nationson 8 August 1967 was an expression of respect for his active role in the formation of this institution. On 17 November 1971 he resigned his post after a coup d'état.

After his resignation as foreign minister, Thanat entered national politics in 1979 and served as chairman of theDemocrat Partyuntil 1982. Between 1980 and 1982 he was also deputy prime minister in the government ofPrem Tinsulanonda.In 1982 he retired from political life. He celebrated his 100th birthday in 2014.[13]His wife, Molee, is a maternal granddaughter ofTan Kim Ching.[14]

Honours[edit]

Thai Decorations[edit]

Foreign Honours[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toThanat Khoman.
  1. ^"สิ้น" ถนัด คอมันตร์ "วัย 102 ปี".3 March 2016.
  2. ^[1][bare URL PDF]
  3. ^Khoman, Sirilaksana (2014).Thanat Khoman: The Formative Years (แด่พ่อที่รักของลูก) (in Thai).Bangkok. p. 60.ISBN9789744018243.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ^"สิ้นแล้ว! ถนัด คอมันตร์ ด้วยโรคชรา อายุ 102 ปี"(in Thai). The Nation Broadcasting Corporation Limited. 2016-03-03.Retrieved2016-03-03.
  5. ^Paddock, Richard C. (7 March 2016)."Thanat Khoman, Thai Statesman and Co-Founder of Asian Alliance, Dies at 101".The New York Times.
  6. ^Marjorie Dent Candee, ed. (1958).Current Biography Yearbook.H. W. Wilson. p.226.
  7. ^"Thai Foreign Minister to Lecture at Gaston".The Hoya.24 October 1968. p. 3.
  8. ^abJudith A. Stowe (1991).Siam Becomes Thailand: A Story of Intrigue.C. Hurst & Co. p. 377.
  9. ^E. Bruce Reynolds (2004).Thailand's Secret War: OSS, SOE and the Free Thai Underground During World War II.Cambridge University Press. p.291.ISBN9780511081026.
  10. ^Pittsburgh Post-Gazette."SEATO May Decide War Or Peace".March 26, 1961, p. 6. Retrieved on May 29, 2013.
  11. ^Louis J. Smith; David H. Herschler (2003).Foundations of Foreign Policy, 1969-1976.Foreign Relations of the United States. Vol. I. U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian. pp. 181–182.
  12. ^Arne Kislenko, "The Vietnam War, Thailand, and the United States" in Richard Jensen et al. eds.Trans-Pacific Relations: America, Europe, and Asia in the Twentieth Century(Praeger, 2003) pp 217–245.
  13. ^Somkiat Onwimon (2014-02-26).บันทึกอาเซียนกับ ดร.สมเกียรติ อ่อนวิมล.Daily News(in Thai). Archived fromthe originalon 2014-03-22.Retrieved2014-08-14.
  14. ^"Bangkok Travelbug - November 10 - The Siamese-Singapore connection".Tour Bangkok Legacies.29 October 2010.Retrieved14 October2015.
  15. ^ราชกิจจานุเบกษา,แจ้งความสำนักคณะรัฐมนตรี เรื่อง พระราชทานเครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์,เล่ม ๗๕, ตอน ๓๙ ง, ๒๐ พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. ๒๕๑๑
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