The New Force Party ( th, พรรคพลังใหม่, ) is a political party in

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 ...

. It was founded in 1974, following the successful democratic uprising of October 1973. The New Force Party was one of the more successful

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

parties during the relatively progressive and democratic phase from 1974 to 1976. Progressive liberal and reformist in its stances, it was considered more moderate than the

Socialist Party of Thailand The Socialist Party of Thailand (SPT) was a political party in Thailand, active in the 1970s. SPT was led by its general secretary Boonsanong Punyodyana. SPT won 15 out of 269 seats in the 1975 parliamentary elections. Boonsanong Punyodyana wa ...

. In the 1975 general election, the first free election after long military dictatorship, the party won 6.0% of the votes and 12 of 269 seats in the House of Representatives. The new leftist parties, together with the long-standing liberal Democrat Party, were placed on the opposition benches. In the run-up to the 1976 election, the party was harassed by its right-wing adversaries. The party's office was attacked and candidates were assassinated by the far-right and military-backed

Red Gaurs The Red Gaurs ( th, กระทิงแดง, ''Krathing Daeng'') were an extreme right-wing paramilitary organization active in Thailand during the 1970s. The Red Gaurs played a key role in the 6 October 1976 massacre of students and activ ...

paramilitary. Its right-wing opponents accused the New Force Party of siding with the communists in Vietnam and Laos, of having received 152 million baht from the

KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

, and of having leaders of Vietnamese descent. The party could stabilize its share of the votes at 6.8%, but only three of its candidates were successful in their respective constituencies. After the democracy movement was shattered in the

Thammasat University massacre The 6 October 1976 massacre, or the 6 October event ( th, เหตุการณ์ 6 ตุลา ) as it is known in Thailand, was a violent crackdown by Thai police and lynching by right-wing paramilitaries and bystanders against leftist p ...

on 6 October 1976, the role of the New Force Party was gradually diminished to a tiny splinter party. In the 1979 election, it won 2.8% of votes and 8 of 301 seats (mostly representing constituencies in

Northeastern Thailand Northeast Thailand or Isan (Isan/ th, อีสาน, ; lo, ອີສານ; also written as Isaan, Isarn, Issarn, Issan, Esan, or Esarn; from Pali ''īsānna'' or Sanskrit ईशान्य ''īśānya'' "northeast") consists of 20 provin ...

). After the 1983 election, New Force was extraparliamentary, after

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

it held a sole seat in parliament. The party was replaced by the "Social Democratic Force Party" on 26 March 1988, which remained electorally unsuccessful. The party was founded and led by medicine professor Dr.

Krasae Chanawongse Krasae Chanawongse ( th, กระแส ชนะวงศ์, , born 1 March 1934) is a Thailand, Thai physician, professor of medicine, and politician. He is the recipient of the 1973 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership. In 1995, he s ...

, the recipient of the 1973

Ramon Magsaysay Award The Ramon Magsaysay Award (Filipino: ''Gawad Ramon Magsaysay'') is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in governance, courageous service to the people, and pragmatic idealis ...

for Community Leadership. In 1988, Krasae joined the

Palang Dharma Party The Palang Dharma Party ( th, พรรคพลังธรรม, ; translated as "power of Dharma", or "moral force", PDP for short) was a Buddhist-inspired political party in Thailand founded by Chamlong Srimuang in 1988, associated with the S ...

, and became foreign minister in 1995. Its secretary-general was Pramote Nakhontap, a political science professor, who later became an activist of the

People's Alliance for Democracy The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD; th, พันธมิตรประชาชนเพื่อประชาธิปไตย, Phanthamit Prachachon Pheu Prachathipatai; commonly known as "Yellow Shirts") is a Thai reactionary, m ...

("Yellow Shirts") and authored an article about the alleged

Finland Plot In Thai politics, the Finland Plot, Finland Plan, Finland Strategy, Finland Conspiracy or Finland Declaration ( th, แผนฟินแลนด์, ยุทธศาสตร์ฟินแลนด์, ปฏิญญาฟินแลนด� ...

. Popular singer Suthep Wongkamhaeng was the party's secretary-general during the 1980s.

References

{{Thai political parties 1974 establishments in Thailand 1988 disestablishments in Thailand Defunct political parties in Thailand Left-wing parties in Thailand Liberal parties in Thailand Political parties disestablished in 1988 Political parties established in 1974