Khuang Aphaiwong (also spelled ''Kuang'', ''Abhaiwong'', or ''Abhaiwongse''; th, ควง อภัยวงศ์, ; 17 May 1902 – 15 March 1968), also known by his noble title Luang Kowit-aphaiwong ( th, หลวงโกวิทอภัยวงศ์, ), was three times the prime minister of

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

: from August 1944 to 1945, from January to May 1946, and from November 1947 to April 1948.

Life and career

Khuang was born in

Battambang Battambang ( km, បាត់ដំបង, UNGEGN: ) is the capital of Battambang Province and the third largest city in Cambodia. Founded in the 11th century by the Khmer Empire, Battambang is the leading rice-producing province of the coun ...

(a city in

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

), a son of the Siamese governor Chao Phraya Abhayabhubet. The Aphaiwongs were of royal Khmer lineage. Khuang attended

Debsirin School Debsirin School ( th, โรงเรียนเทพศิรินทร์, ) is a single-sex education, boys' secondary school in Thailand. Founded by King Chulalongkorn in 1885, its alumni include King Ananda Mahidol, Malaysia's founding ...

and

Assumption College, Bangkok Assumption College ( th, โรงเรียนอัสสัมชัญ) is a private Catholic boys school in Bangkok, Thailand. The school, founded by Rev. Fr. Emile-August Colombet on 16 February 1885, is the first school founded by the ...

, later studying engineering at the Ecole Centrale de Lyon in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. On his return to Thailand, he worked in the telegraph department, finally becoming director of the department. This earned him the feudal title '' Luang Kowit-aphaiwong''. He married Lekha Kunadilok (Goone-Tilleke), daughter of Ceylon-born lawyer William Alfred Goone-Tilleke, founder of the law firm

Tilleke & Gibbins Tilleke & Gibbins is a regional law firm in Southeast Asia, with offices in Bangkok, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Vientiane, Phnom Penh, and Yangon. The firm's core practices are commercial transactions, mergers and acquisitions, dispute res ...

Promoter of regime change and minister

Khuang was a member of the civil faction of '' Khana Ratsadon'' ("People's Party"), the group that promoted the Siamese revolution of 1932, that brought a regime change from absolute to constitutional monarchy. Afterwards, he served as minister without portfolio in the cabinets of

Phraya Phahon Phonphayuhasena Phraya Phahonphonphayuhasena, (29 March 1887 – 14 February 1947) (short form: Phraya Phahon), born as Phot Phahonyothin, was a Thai military leader and politician. He became the second prime minister of Siam in 1933 after ousting his pre ...

and

Plaek Phibunsongkhram Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram ( th, แปลก พิบูลสงคราม ; alternatively transcribed as ''Pibulsongkram'' or ''Pibulsonggram''; 14 July 1897 – 11 June 1964), locally known as Marshal P. ( th, จอมพล � ...

(Phibun). During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he was commissioned a major and joined the

King's Guard The King's Guard and King's Life Guard (called the Queen's Guard and the Queen's Life Guard when the reigning monarch is female) are the contingents of infantry and cavalry soldiers charged with guarding the official royal residences in the U ...

. As such he was at the head of the mission to

which in July 1941 took control of the Cambodian territories occupied during the Franco-Thai War, to be renamed

Phra Tabong Province Phra Tabong Province ( th, พระตะบอง) was a province of Thailand, from the late-18th century until it was ceded to French Indochina in 1907, and again between 1941-1946 after Thailand recaptured it during the Japanese occupation of ...

. His father had been governor of part of this region before it was ceded to France 1907. Later he became minister of commerce and communications.

First term as prime minister

On 1 August 1944, parliament elected him prime minister, after Phibun's plans to move the capital to Phetchabun and to create the

Phutthamonthon Phutthamonthon (, ; also spelled Buddha Monthon; from Sanskrit ''Buddha Máṇḍala'', 'Buddha's sphere') is a Buddhist park in Salaya subdistrict of Phutthamonthon district, Nakhon Pathom province, Thailand. The park is situated just outside ...

Park failed to gain approval. He was a compromise candidate, standing between the Phibun supporters and the opposition Free Thai Movement. Ostensibly he co-operated with the Japanese who had occupied Thailand during the war. At the same time, he shielded the Free Thai who collaborated with the Allies. After the Japanese retreat he resigned on 31 August 1945, to make way for a new administration by the Free Thai forces.

Second term as prime minister

In 1946 he was one of the founders of the conservative Democrat Party, and became its first leader. The fourth national elections on 6 January 1946 were won by the Democratic Party, which gained him a second term as prime minister starting on 31 January. Only 45 days later, on 24 March, his government lost a vote of no-confidence in parliament and he resigned.

Third term as prime minister and later life

He became prime minister a third time on 10 November 1947 following a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

led by Field Marshal

Phin Chunhawan Field Marshal Phin Choonhavan ( th, ผิน ชุณหะวัณ; ; August 14, 1891 – 26 January 1973) was a Thai military leader and Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand. Phin was a leader of several coups against the government, most nota ...

. However, the coup leaders were not pleased with the performance of Khuang's government and forced him to resign on 8 April 1948. This enabled Phibun to become prime minister again. Khuang continued in politics as the opposition leader and leader of the Democratic Party until all political parties were banned in 1958. His wife, Khunying Lekha Aphaiwong, was appointed senator in 1949, becoming one of the first female politicians of Thailand. Khuang died on 15 March 1968, at age 66.

Life and career

Promoter of regime change and minister

First term as prime minister

Second term as prime minister

Third term as prime minister and later life

References

Further reading