Seng Saekhu (born c. 1840s th, เส็ง แซ่คู; ) or Khu Chun Seng (; th, ชุ่นเส็ง แซ่คู; ) or Nguanseng Saekhu ( th, ง่วนเส็ง แซ่คู) was a

tax farmer Farming or tax-farming is a technique of financial management in which the management of a variable revenue stream is assigned by legal contract to a third party and the holder of the revenue stream receives fixed periodic rents from the contract ...

and the patriarch of the Shinawatra clan.

Life

Seng was born in Fengshun,

Meizhou Meizhou (, Hakka Chinese: Mòichû) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Guangdong province, China. It has an area of , and a population of 3,873,239 million as of the 2020 census. It comprises Meijiang District, Meixian District, Xingning Cit ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

to Chao Saekhu. Seng came to

Siam 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 ...

in the 1860s together with his parents and second brother. However, as Seng's mother and second brother soon fell ill shortly arriving in Siam, his parents and brother returned to China, leaving Seng in the care of a local acquaintance. Seng spent his early years in Chanthaburi where he met his wife, a native Thai by the name of Thongdi. Their eldest son, Chiang was born in 1890 around this time and Seng started his career as a tax farmer in this small town. When the land lease expired in 1900, Seng and his family moved to

Talat Noi Talat Noi or Talad Noi ( th, ตลาดน้อย, ) is a historic neighbourhood in Bangkok. It roughly occupies the area of the sub-district of the same name in Samphanthawong District. On the periphery of Bangkok's Chinatown, Talat Noi has b ...

in Bangkok around 1900 where worked as a commercial trader. Seng and his family relocated to Chiang Mai around 1908 to resume his career as a tax farmer under the patronage of Nikhon Jinkit.

Family

Seng married two wives; the first to Thongdi with whom he had 6 children, including Chiang. Thongdi died of a heart attack in 1910 due to a robbery incident, and Seng remarried another lady, Nocha with whom he had 3 children. Chiang married another Thai lady, Saeng Samana with whom they have 12 children. Chiang's second child and oldest son, Sak Shinawatra, adopted the Shinawatra surname in 1938, during

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 � ...

's anti-Chinese campaigns, and the rest of the clan followed suit. Sak Shinawatra became an army general and has four sons who all served in the army for at least sometime. Sak's third son,

Chaiyasit Shinawatra Chaiyasit Shinawatra ( th, ชัยสิทธิ์ ชินวัตร; ; born 25 June 1945) is a former commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army. He was transferred from the army to become a special advisor to the Supreme Command Headquar ...

became the commander-in-chief 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 ...

. Chiang's 4th child and second son, Loet Shinawatra is the father of

Prime Ministers A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is no ...

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, ...

and

Yingluck Shinawatra Yingluck Shinawatra ( th, ยิ่งลักษณ์ ชินวัตร, , ; ; born 21 June 1967), nicknamed Pou ( th, ปู, , , meaning "crab"), is a Thai businesswoman, politician and a member of the Pheu Thai Party who became the P ...

. Loet served as an MP for Chiang Mai in 1969 and 1976 for 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 ...

. Loet married Yindi Ramingwong, who is the daughter of a Hakka Chinese immigrant and his wife, a princess of the Lanna royalty.

References

Bibliography

External links

Thai PM reviled by protesters, but a hero in his home town

Thai PM reviled by protesters, but a hero in his home town
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Saekhu, Seng Seng Saekhu Seng Saekhu People from Fengshun Seng Saekhu Seng Saekhu Businesspeople from Meizhou 1840s births Year of death missing Seng Saekhu