Kris Sivara ( Thai: กฤษณ์ สีวะรา, , alternatively transcribed as ''Srivara'') (27 March 1914 – 28 April 1976) was a

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

of the

Royal Thai Army The Royal Thai Army or RTA ( th, กองทัพบกไทย; ) is the army of Thailand and the oldest and largest branch of the Royal Thai Armed Forces. History Origin The Royal Thai Army is responsible for protecting the kingdom's so ...

, a member of the Thai Cabinet, and deputy commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army during the violent crackdown on democracy protesters on 14 October 1973. He was later promoted to army commander.

Career

During the Burma Campaign in

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 ...

, Kris served as a company commander in a Phayap Army battalion under the command of Major

Sarit Thanarat Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat (also spelt ''Dhanarajata''; th, สฤษดิ์ ธนะรัชต์, ; 16 June 1908 – 8 December 1963) was a Thai general who staged a coup in 1957, replacing Plaek Phibunsongkhram as Thailand's prime m ...

. Kris was appointed Deputy Minister of Education by Field Marshal

Thanom Kittikachorn Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn ( th, ถนอม กิตติขจร, ; 11 August 1911 – 16 June 2004) was the leader of Thailand from 1963 to 1973, during which he staged a self-coup, until public protests which exploded into viole ...

in his 1969 government. On 23 November 1970, he was switched to Deputy Minister of Defence (Thanom was both premier and minister of defence). The government fell on 17 November 1971 after Thanom led a coup that overthrew his own government and abrogated the 1968 constitution. Thanom appointed Kris Minister of Industry in his subsequent junta. Kris played a pivotal role in the 14 October democracy movement of 1973. Kris served as Deputy Army Commander in the face of massive public demonstrations against the "three tyrants": Colonel Narong Kittikachorn, Army Commander Field Marshal

Praphas Charusathien Praphas Charusathien ( th, ประภาส จารุเสถียร, , ; 25 November 1912 – 18 August 1997) was a Thai military officer and politician. He was a field marshal (''chom phon'') of the Royal Thai Army and minister of inter ...

, and Prime Minister and Supreme Commander Thanom Kittikachorn. On the evening of 14 October, the police and army began shooting at demonstrators, killing at least 70. Narong shot into the crowds from a helicopter. Thanom and Praphas resigned from their political roles, but continued to lead the military. They ordered more troops to confront the remaining demonstrators, but were blocked by Kris. Thanom and Narong then resigned from their military positions. The king then appointed

Sanya Dharmasakti Sanya Dharmasakti ( th, สัญญา ธรรมศักดิ์, , ; 5 April 1907 – 6 January 2002) was a Thai jurist, university professor and politician. He served as the 12th Prime Minister of Thailand from 1973 to 1975. Sanya Dh ...

as premier. Kris was named defense minister in 1976, but died a week later in April 1976. His death has been called "...sudden and strange..." Kris's role in the events was countered by Narong in a 2003 book. Narong blamed Kris, among others, for the violence. The book was strongly criticised by former student leaders. The army's Kris Sivara Camp in Sakon Nakhon Province is named after him.

Honour

1966 - Knight Grand Cordon of the Most Exalted

Order of the White Elephant __NOTOC__ The Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant ( th, เครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันเป็นที่เชิดชูยิ่งช้างเผือก; ) is an order (decoration), orde ...

1963 - Knight Grand Cordon of the Most Noble

Order of the Crown of Thailand The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand ( th, เครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันมีเกียรติยศยิ่งมงกุฎไทย; ) is a Thai order, established in 1869 by King Rama ...

1969 -

Order of Chula Chom Klao - 2nd Class upper (Thailand) ribbon

Dame Grand Commander of the Most Illustrious

Order of Chula Chom Klao The Most Illustrious Order of Chula Chom Klao ( th, เครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์จุลจอมเกล้า; ) was established on 16 November 1873 by King Chulalongkorn, Rama V of The Thailand, Kingdom of ...

1962 -

Victory Medal -

1974 -

Freeman Safeguarding Medal - 1st Class (Thailand) ribbon

Freemen Safeguarding Medal (First Class) 1934 -

Safeguarding the Constitution Medal (Thailand) ribbon

Safeguarding the Constitution Medal 1969 - Border Service Medal (Thailand) ribbon

Border Service Medal 1947 - Chakra Mala Medal (Thailand) ribbon

Chakra Mala Medal 1950 - King Rama VIII Royal Cypher Medal (Thailand) ribbon

King

Ananda Mahidol Ananda Mahidol ( th, พระบาทสมเด็จพระปรเมนทรมหาอานันทมหิดล; ; 20 September 1925 – 9 June 1946), posthumous reigning title Phra Athamaramathibodin ( th, พระอั� ...

's Royal Cypher Medal 4th 1953 - King Rama IX Royal Cypher Medal (Thailand) ribbon

King

Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej ( th, ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช; ; ; (Sanskrit: ''bhūmi·bala atulya·teja'' - "might of the land, unparalleled brilliance"); 5 December 192713 October 2016), conferred with the title King Bhumibol the Great ...

's Royal Cypher Medal 3rd

Foreign honour

* : 1964 - BEL Order of Leopold II - Grand Cross BAR

Grand Cross of the

Order of Leopold II The Order of Leopold II is an order of Belgium and is named in honor of King Leopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as Sovereign of the Congo Free State and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgi ...

* 1969 - Tong-il Security Medal (South Korea)

Tongil Medal of the

Order of National Security Merit The Order of National Security Merit (Hangul: 보국훈장) is one of South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land b ...

* 1969 -

Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Cloud and Banner The Order of the Cloud and Banner () also known as the Order of the Resplendent Banner is a military award of the Republic of China. It was instituted on June 15, 1935 and is awarded in nine grades for contributions to national security. The insig ...

* 1969 - Vietnam Kim Khanh Decoration ribbon-Exceptional Class

Exceptional class of the Order of Kim Khanh * 1972 - Order of the British Empire (Military) Ribbon

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(Military) 1973 - Bintang Yudha Dharma Utama (Indonesia)

Grand Meritorious Military Order Star 1st Class * 1975 -

Honorary Grand Commander of the

Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia The Most Esteemed Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Setia Mahkota Malaysia) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country and awarded by the sovereign. The order was instituted on ...

* 1975 - PHL Legion of Honor - Commander BAR

Philippine Legion of Honor The Philippine Legion of Honor ( fil, Lehiyong Pandangal ng Pilipinas; es, Legion de Honor Filipino) was established by President Manuel Roxas, through Philippine Army Circular No. 60 dated July 3, 1947. The Philippine Legion of Honor was patterne ...

(Rank of Commander)

References

External links

* ''The Nation''
"Uprising: Narong 'is distorting history'"
31 Aug 2003 1914 births 1976 deaths

Kris Sivara Kris Sivara ( Thai: กฤษณ์ สีวะรา, , alternatively transcribed as ''Srivara'') (27 March 1914 – 28 April 1976) was a military officer of the Royal Thai Army, a member of the Thai Cabinet, and deputy commander-in-chief of the ...

Honorary Grand Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia

{{Thailand-mil-bio-stub

Career

Honour

Foreign honour

References

Further reading

External links