Kriangsak Chamanan Net Worth

Background and career

Kriangsak Chamanan (Thai: เกรียงศักดิ์ ชมะนันทน์, pronounced [kria̯ŋ.sàk tɕʰā.má(ʔ).nān]; 17 December 1917 – 23 December 2003) was the 15th prime minister of Thailand, serving from 1977 to 1980. His tenure began when he assumed power following the October 1977 Thai coup d'état, and ended with his resignation in 1980. He concurrently served as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces from 1977 to 1978.

Born in Samut Sakhon to a wealthy business family, Kriangsak attended the prestigious Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy and trained as a professional soldier. During World War II, he was posted in the occupied Shan State, and fought against the French in the Franco-Thai War as platoon leader. During the Korean War, he served as the commander of Infantry Battalion III, which fought in the Battle of Pork Chop Hill, making him one of only a few non-citizen officers to receive the U.S. Legion of Merit. Kriangsak was promoted to the position of general in 1973, and army chief of staff a year later. Following a "democratic experiment" in Thailand that ended with the 6 October 1976 massacre, Kriangsak helped Admiral Sangad Chaloryu carry out a military coup that installed judge Thanin Kraivichien as prime minister. As a moderate pragmatist opposed to Thanin's extreme right-wing policies, Kriangsak ousted him in a coup d'etat in 1977.

Taking office as prime minister at a time when Thailand's relations with its communist neighbours had deteriorated due to the previous administration's confrontational policies, Kriangsak pursued a policy of détente, successfully normalising diplomatic relationships with Thailand's former enemies while rejuvenating relations with the United States. In the domestic sphere, Kriangsak reversed Thanin's repression of civil liberties, defusing the internal communist insurgency by granting amnesty to political detainees and any communist cadres who chose to return. He also partially restored Thai democracy, holding a general election in 1979. After a decrease in public support due to difficulties in dealing with the 1970s energy crisis, Kriangsak resigned the premiership in 1980, and is often noted as the only coup leader to voluntarily resign.

In 1985, dissatisfied with his successor, Prem Tinsulanonda, Kriangsak staged a failed coup against Prem, after which he was pardoned. In his retirement, he was invited to the InterAction Council of Former Heads of State and Government in solving various global issues, becoming the only Thai prime minister and one of fewer than three from Asia at the time of his membership. After suffering several years of declining health, Kriangsak died in 2003.

Kriangsak is credited with "steering Thailand to democracy" in a time when communist insurgents were rampant internally and neighbouring countries turned to communist rule following the communist takeover of Vietnam: South Vietnam (by the Viet Cong), Laos (by the Pathet Lao), and Cambodia (by the Khmer Rouge). Due to his landmark foreign and domestic developmental policies, Kriangsak is generally considered one of the greatest prime ministers of Thailand.