Chatichai Choonhavan (5 April 1920-6 May 1998) was Prime Minister of Thailand from 4 August 1988 to 23 February 1991, succeeding Prem Tinsulanonda and preceding Sunthorn Kongsompong.
Biography[]
Chatichai Choonhavan was born in Bangkok, Siam in 1920, and he served in the Royal Thai Army during the Burma campaign of World War II before serving as military attache in Washington DC in 1949 and becoming a major-general at the age of 31. Chatichai commanded a battalion in the Korean War, and he later served as ambassador to Austria, Switzerland, Turkey, Yugoslavia, the Vatican City, and the United States. He took charge of the Foreign Ministry's political department in 1972, and he negotiated the end of the Bangok Israeli embassy hostage crisis. He cofounded the anti-communist Thai Nation Party in 1974 and served as an MP, as Foreign Minister from 1975 to 1976, as Industry Minister in 1976 and from 1980 to 1983, and as Prime Minister from 1988 to 1991. Chatichai oversaw several infrastructure projects that led to economic growth, but his coalition was infamous for its corruption, as his party had come to represent the interests of provincial businessmen. He was overthrown in a 1991 coup due to his corruption, and he briefly went into exile in Britain before returning home and becoming an MP for his National Development Party. He died in 1998.