Thirayuth Boonmee ( th, ธีรยุทธ บุญมี, ; born 10 January 1950) is a Thai

public intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...

and a former student

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

Student leader

While a student at

Chulalongkorn University Chulalongkorn University (CU, th, จุฬาลงกรณ์มหาวิทยาลัย, ), nicknamed Chula ( th, จุฬาฯ), is a public and autonomous research university in Bangkok, Thailand. The university was originally fo ...

in 1973, Thirayuth led the

National Student Center of Thailand National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

(NSCT) in coordinating political activism against the military dictatorship of

Thanom Kittikachorn Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn ( th, ถนอม กิตติขจร, ; 11 August 1911 – 16 June 2004) was the leader of Thailand from 1963 to 1973, during which he staged a self-coup, until public protests which exploded into viole ...

and

Praphas Charusathien Praphas Charusathien ( th, ประภาส จารุเสถียร, , ; 25 November 1912 – 18 August 1997) was a Thai military officer and politician. He was a field marshal (''chom phon'') of the Royal Thai Army and minister of inter ...

. The NSCT led tens of thousands in public protests against the regime. One of the earlier activities of the NSCT had been a 10-day boycott against Japanese products, in protest against Japanese investments in Thailand. On 6 October 1973, Thirayuth and 12 other student activists were arrested by the Praphas government for

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, estab ...

after they distributed leaflets demanding a new

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

. Rumors spread that they had been killed, which sparked massive anti-government protests. The demonstrations reached their peak on 13 October, when about 400,000 protesters gathered in front of the

Democracy Monument The Democracy Monument ( th, อนุสาวรีย์ประชาธิปไตย, ''Anusawari Prachathipatai'') is a public monument in the city center of Bangkok, capital of Thailand. It occupies a traffic circle on the wide east� ...

and the parliament building. That afternoon, Thirayuth and the other students were released, and the

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

approved plans to draft a new constitution within 12 months. Thirayuth also played a role in exposing the Internal Security Operations Command's role in a massacre of villagers at Ban Na Sai village in the northeast. After the student massacre at

Thammasat University Thammasat University (Abbreviation, Abrv: TU th, มธ.; th, มหาวิทยาลัยธรรมศาสตร์, , ) is a public research university in Thailand with campuses in Tha Phra Chan area of Phra Nakhon District near the ...

on 6 October 1976, Thirayuth, as well as many other students and intellectuals fled from the cities to take refuge with 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 ...

(CPT) in its jungle strongholds. Thirayuth increasingly became critical of the king, noting in a broadcast on 1 April 1977 that the monarchy was "obsolete and deteriorating", and that "I think that if our people were to destroy it, there would be no adverse effects". After the CPT dissolved itself in the early-1980s, Thirayuth returned to the mainstream of Thai intellectual life, renouncing socialism and rejecting his anti-monarchical statements.

Contemporary activism

Thirayuth earned a PhD in political science in the US, then returned to Thailand. For many years he has taught in the Faculty of Sociology of

. In 1997, he was named one of Thailand's ten most influential

s.คลังปัญญาชน ชีวประวัติ ธีรยุทธ บุญมี
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References

External links

Influential intellectuals in Thai society
* Giles Ungpakorn
Cleansing democracy of socialism

Thirayuth Boonmee Thirayuth Boonmee ( th, ธีรยุทธ บุญมี, ; born 10 January 1950) is a Thai public intellectual and a former student activist. Student leader While a student at Chulalongkorn University in 1973, Thirayuth led the National St ...

1950 births Living people

{{Thailand-academic-bio-stub

Student leader

Contemporary activism

References

Further reading

External links