Phayom Chulanont ( th, พ.ท.พโยม จุลานนท์; 12 March 1909 – 7 September 1980) was a Thai military officer, politician, and leader of the

Communist Party of Thailand The Communist Party of Thailand ( Abrv: CPT; th, พรรคคอมมิวนิสต์แห่งประเทศไทย, ) was a communist party in Thailand active from 1942 until the 1990s. Initially known as the Communist Party ...

. He was the father of former Prime Minister

Surayud Chulanont Surayud Chulanont ( th, สุรยุทธ์ จุลานนท์, , ; born 28 August 1943) is a Thai politician. He was the Prime Minister of Thailand and head of Thailand's interim government between 2006 and 2008. He is a former supr ...

Biography

The son of Phraya Wiset Singhanat of Phetburi, and son-in-law of Phraya

Sri Sitthi Songkhram Phraya Si Sitthisongkhram ( th, พระยาศรีสิทธิสงคราม) or birth name Din Tharap ( th, ดิ่น ท่าราบ; 10 May 1891–23 October 1933) was a Siamese career army officer. He became chief of staff ...

, Phayom became an ally of Marshal

Plaek Pibulsonggram 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 � ...

in his coup against the government of Thawal Thamrong Navaswadhi and Pridi Bhanomyong in 1947. He later disagreed with the leaders of the junta and started a failed coup of his own, the so-called Army Staff School coup. When the coup failed, he fled to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

via

Mae Sai ''Mae Sai'' ( th, แม่สาย, ; Shan: , ), is the district town of Mae Sai District in the far north of Chiang Rai Province, Thailand. Mae Sai is a major border crossing between Thailand and Myanmar where the town of Tachileik, in Shan ...

and

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. At the time, his son, Surayud, was only six-years-old. Phayom returned to Thailand in 1957 to run in the general elections in March, becoming MP of

Phetburi Phetchaburi ( th, เพชรบุรี, ) or Phet Buri () is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in southern Thailand, capital of Phetchaburi Province. In Thai, Phetchaburi means "city of diamonds" (''buri'' meaning "city" in Sanskrit). It is approx ...

. Later that year,

Sarit Dhanarajata 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 ...

seized power from the government of

. Phayom subsequently left his family and went underground, adopting the ''

nom de guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

'' Comrade Too Khamtan (). He later became a member of the Central Committee of the

and the Chief of Staff of the People's Liberation Army of Thailand. His son, Surayud, later joined 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 ...

and led operations against his father. After decades of hiding and guerilla warfare, Phayom's health failed him. He was sent to recuperate in Beijing in 1978, and later died in China on 7 September 1980.

References

Citations

Sources

* Nation Weekender, ('Comrade Khamtan', A Good Man in the Heart of General Surayud), 9 December 2005 Phayom Chulanont Phayom Chulanont 1909 births 1980 deaths People of the Cold War Phayom Chulanont Phayom Chulanont Phayom Chulanont Phayom Chulanont Phayom Chulanont Phayom Chulanont {{Thailand-bio-stub