Prasong Soonsiri ( th, ประสงค์ สุ่นศิริ; born 11 August 1927) is a Thai politician, and former

Royal Thai Air Force "Royal Thai Air Force March" , mascot = , anniversaries = 9 April 1937 (Royal Thai Air Force Day) , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles ...

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

, Thai Foreign Minister, and Secretary-General of the National Security Council.

Education and careers

Prasong started his civil service as a teacher at Ratchaburi boarding school later transferred to military service at the Directorate of Intelligence, Royal Thai Air Force to the rank of a Pilot Officer. He was a close confidant following

Siddhi Savetsila Siddhi Savetsila ( th, สิทธิ เศวตศิลา, , , 7 January 1919 – 5 December 2015) was a Thai air force officer and politician. After finishing his military career with the rank of air chief marshal, he served as the foreig ...

to the Air Force Security Bureau. From then in 1966, he received a scholarship to study intelligence at the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

. Upon returning, he moved to the Office of the National Security Council and in 1980, was the Secretary-General of the National Security Council, following the retirement of Siddhi Savetsila. In 1986, he resigned from the Secretary-General of the National Security Council, to be Secretary-General to the Prime Minister of

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, ...

. His image of the will of the

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...

expert resulting in the nickname of "

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

of Thailand" and got another nickname, "Co-Prime Minister" from Prem's secretary-general.

Critics

Prasong has been a long-time critic of

Thaksin Shinawatra Thaksin Shinawatra ( th, ทักษิณ ชินวัตร; ; ; Chinese: 丘達新; cnr, Taksin Šinavatra; born 26 July 1949), is a Thai businessman, politician and visiting professor. He served in the Thai Police from 1973 to 1987, a ...

since Thaksin's entry into politics in 1994. Thaksin 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 ...

in late 1994 under the invitation of

Chamlong Srimuang Chamlong Srimuang ( th, จำลอง ศรีเมือง; born 5 July 1935) is a Thai activist and former politician. A former general, he was a leader of the "Young Turks" military clique, founded and led the Palang Dharma Party, serv ...

, who had just reclaimed the position of party leader from

Boonchu Rojanastien Boonchu Rojanastien ( th, บุญชู โรจนเสถียร; , Chinese: 黃聞波, Huang Wenbo born January 20, 1921, Chon Buri Province, Thailand, died March 19, 2007, Bangkok)

. In a subsequent purge of Boonchu-affiliated PDP Cabinet ministers, Thaksin was appointed Foreign Minister, replacing Prasong Soonsiri. Prasong was a central figure in the 19 September 2006 Thai military coup that overthrew

's elected government. Prasong had developed plans for a military coup as early as July 2006.Asia Times
Grumbles, revelations of a Thai coup maker
22 December 2006 A palace insider and favorite of 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 ...

, Prasong was later appointed by the junta to the National Legislative Assembly.

Honours

Prasong has received the following decorations and awards in the

Honours System An order is a visible honour awarded by a sovereign state, monarch, dynastic house or organisation to a person, typically in recognition of individual merit, that often comes with distinctive insignia such as collars, medals, badges, and sashes ...

of Thailand: * Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) 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 ...

* Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) 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 ...

Order of Chula Chom Klao - 3rd Class upper (Thailand) ribbon

Grand Companion 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soonsiri, Prasong Living people Prasong Soonsiri 1927 births Prasong Soonsiri Prasong Soonsiri Prasong Soonsiri

Education and careers

Critics

Honours

See also

References