Narong Wongwan ( th, ณรงค์ วงศ์วรรณ; 25 December 1925 – 10 September 2020) was a Thai politician and tobacco industrialist. He was a long-term member of parliament representing

Phrae Phrae (; ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in northern Thailand, capital of Phrae Province. The town occupies ''tambon'' Nai Wiang of Mueang Phrae District. It has an area of nine kilometres2 and a population of 17,971 (2005). Phrae is 555 km no ...

, leader of the Solidarity Party and the

Justice Unity Party The Justice Unity Party ( th, พรรคสามัคคีธรรม, ) was a Thai pro-military and conservative political party established after the military coup d'état of 1991. It was founded by Narong Wongwan, who became party chairma ...

. He was publicly known as the "godfather" ''(jao pho)'' of Phrae or even "godfather of the North".

Life and career

Narong Wongwan was born in Phrae, where his grandfather had acquired a fortune from wood production. Narong studied economics in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. After working for the family's saw mill for some time, he went into tobacco growing and curing in the 1950s. During the 1970s the tobacco business in Northern Thailand boomed and Narong became a multi-millionaire. Many peasants of Phrae and the neighbouring provinces were employed on Narong's and his family's plantations and in their curing plants. Therefore, he accumulated considerable economic and social influence in the region. This was used by him as a base for his political career. Narong was a member of Phrae's provincial council as early as 1949. He founded the Solidarity Party (Ruamthai) and was elected member of parliament in 1979. He was steadily re-elected in all elections until 1992. He joined the government of prime minister

Prem Tinsulanonda Prem Tinsulanonda ( th, เปรม ติณสูลานนท์, , ; 26 August 1920 – 26 May 2019) was a Thai military officer, politician, and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Thailand from 3 March 1980 to 4 August 1988, ...

, becoming deputy interior minister in 1980, deputy minister of agriculture in 1981, rising to be minister in 1983. After the election of 1986, his party was in the opposition. In 1989, he merged his party with three minor parties and renamed it Solidarity Party. After a cabinet reshuffle, the party became part of

Chatichai Choonhavan Chatichai Choonhavan ( th, ชาติชาย ชุณหะวัณ, , ; 5 April 1920 – 6 May 1998) was a Thai army officer, diplomat and politician. From 1986 to 1991, he was the chairman of the Thai Nation Party and served as the Prim ...

's government coalition and Narong was again made minister of agriculture. After the coup d'état of 1991 and ahead of the election in March 1992, he joined other provincial businessmen, bureaucrats and supporters of the military coup group to form the

, of which he became the chairman. The party won the election and Narong was designated prime minister, when media alleged that the

had refused him entry admission due to the suspection of involvement in drug trafficking. The

US government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...

threatened that relations between the two countries could worsen in case that Narong became head of government. He had to relinquish premiership and the parliament instead nominated the putschist General

Suchinda Kraprayoon Suchinda Kraprayoon ( th, สุจินดา คราประยูร, ; born 6 August 1933) 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 ...

. Really, Narong had not been prosecuted as there was not sufficient evidence. As the leader of the biggest coalition party, Narong still became deputy prime minister under Suchinda. After the bloody crackdown on the oppositional movement protesting against the military-backed government, the Justice Unity Party was discredited and dissolved. Narong instead joined the

Thai Nation Party Thai Nation Party, or Chart Thai Party ( th, พรรคชาติไทย, ) was a conservative political party in Thailand. It was dissolved by the Constitutional Court of Thailand on December 2, 2008, along with the People's Power Party and ...

. After the party's electoral success in 1995, Narong was poised to become minister of interior, but again he was hindered by allegations of criminal activity. In 2000, Thailand's Supreme Court condemned the tabloid newspaper ''Khao Sot'' for spreading false allegations against Narong. Narong died at the age of 94 with a senile disease on the night of 10 September 2020 at 11:01 P.M. at

Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital () is a university teaching hospital, affiliated to the Faculty of Medicine of Chiang Mai University, located in Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai Province. It is a hospital capable of super tertiary care an ...

Honours

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

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wongwan, Narong

Narong Wongwan Narong Wongwan ( th, ณรงค์ วงศ์วรรณ; 25 December 1925 – 10 September 2020) was a Thai politician and tobacco industrialist. He was a long-term member of parliament representing Phrae, leader of the Solidarity Party an ...

1925 births 2020 deaths