Editing Plaek Phibunsongkhram (section)

== Prime Minister of Thailand ==
[[File:Plaek Phibunsongkhram Speech at Grand Palace 1940.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Phibunsongkhram giving a [[nationalist]] speech to the crowds at the [[Ministry of Defence (Thailand)|Ministry of Defence]] opposite Swasti Sopha gate of [[Grand Palace]] in 1940.]]

===First premiership===
On 16 December 1938, Phibun replaced [[Phraya Phahol Pholphayuhasena|Phraya Phahon]] as [[Prime Minister of Thailand]] and as the [[List of Commanders of the Royal Thai Army|Commander of the Royal Siamese Army]]. Phibun became a ''de facto'' dictator, and established a [[military dictatorship]], consolidating his position by rewarding several members of his own army clique with influential positions in his government.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

After the revolution of 1932, the Thai government of Phraya Phahol was impressed by the success of the [[March on Rome]] of [[Benito Mussolini]]'s [[Italian Fascism|Italian fascist]] movement. Phibun, also an admirer of Italian fascism, sought to replicate fascist-style propaganda tactics, valued in Italy as one of the most powerful propaganda instruments of political power. In Italy, its main purpose was to promote [[nationalism]] and [[militarism]], strengthen the unity and harmony of the state, and glorify the policy of ruralisation in Italy and abroad. As a consequence of the fascist leanings of Thai political leaders, Italian propaganda films including newsreels, documentaries, short films, and full-length feature films, such as [[:it:Istituto Luce Cinecittà|Istituto Luce Cinecittà]], were shown in Thailand during the [[interwar period]]. Phibun adopted the [[fascist salute]], modelled on the [[Roman salute]], using it during speeches. The salute was not compulsory in Thailand, and it was opposed by [[Luang Wichitwathakan]] and many cabinet members as they believed it inappropriate for Thai culture. Together with Wichitwathakan, the Minister of Propaganda, he built a [[Cult of personality|leadership cult]] in 1938 and thereafter. Photographs of Phibun were to be found everywhere, and those of the abdicated King Prajadhipok were banned. His quotes appeared in newspapers, were plastered on billboards, and were repeated over the radio.{{Citation needed|date=December 2007}}

==== Thai Cultural Revolution ====
{{Main|Thai cultural mandates}}
[[File:Thai Cultural Mandate Dress Code c1940 Phibunsongkhram.png|150px|thumb|left|Thai poster from the Phibunsongkhram era, showing prohibited "uncivilised" dress on the left and proper Western-style dress on the right.]]

Phibun immediately promoted [[Thaification|Thai nationalism]] (to the point of [[ultranationalism]]), and to support this policy, he launched a series of major reforms, known as the '''Thai Cultural Revolution''', to increase the pace of modernisation in Thailand. His goal aimed to uplift the national spirit and moral code of the nation and instil progressive tendencies and a newness into Thai life. A series of [[Thai cultural mandates|cultural mandates]] were issued by the government, which encouraged all Thais to salute the flag in public places, learn the [[Phleng Chat Thai|new national anthem]] and use the standardised [[Thai language]] (not regional [[dialect]]s or languages). People were encouraged to adopt Western-style attire as opposed to traditional clothing styles, and eat with Western-style utensils, such as [[fork]]s and [[spoon]]s, rather than with their hands as was customary in Thai culture at the time. Phibun saw these policies as necessary, in the interest of [[progressivism]], to change  Thailand's international image from that of an undeveloped country into a civilized and modern nation.<ref name=Numnonda-1978>{{cite journal |last1=Numnonda |first1=Thamsook |title=Pibulsongkram's Thai Nation-Building Programme during the Japanese Military Presence, 1941–1945 |journal=Journal of Southeast Asian Studies |date=September 1978 |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=234–247 |jstor=20062726 |doi=10.1017/S0022463400009760 |s2cid=162373204 }}</ref>

Phibun's administration encouraged [[economic nationalism]] and espoused staunch [[anti-Chinese sentiment|anti-Teochew sentiment]]. Sinophobic policies were imposed by the government to reduce the economic power of Siam's [[Thai Chinese|Teochew-Hoklo population]] and encouraged the [[Thai people|Central Thai people]] to purchase as many Thai products as possible. In a speech in 1938, Luang Wichitwathakan, himself of one-quarter Chinese ancestry, followed [[Rama VI]]'s book ''Jews of the East'' in comparing the Teochew in Siam to the Jews in Germany, who at the time were harshly repressed.

On 24 June 1939, Phibun changed the country's official English name from "Siam" to "Thailand"<ref name="brit">{{cite web |title=Luang Phibunsongkhram |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Luang-Phibunsongkhram |website=Britannica |access-date=30 August 2024}}</ref><ref name="parmu">{{cite web |last1=Komnpelin |first1=Chetiya |title=การเปลี่ยนชื่อประเทศจาก "สยาม" เป็น "ไทย" |url=https://parliamentmuseum.go.th/2564/ar64-siam-thai.html |website=Parliament Museum |access-date=30 August 2024}}</ref> at Wichitwathakan's urging. {{citation needed|date=August 2024}} The name "Siam" was an [[exonym]] of unknown and probably foreign origin, which conflicted with Phibun's nationalist policies.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}} 

In 1941, in the midst of [[World War II]], Phibun [[Thai solar calendar#New year|decreed 1 January]] as the official start of the new year instead of the traditional ''[[Songkran (Thailand)|Songkran]]'' date on 13 April.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

====Franco-Thai War====
{{Main|Franco-Thai War}}
[[File:จอมพลป. พิบูลสงคราม ในปี 2484.jpg|260px|thumb|Phibunsongkhram inspecting troops during the Franco-Thai War]]
[[File:01จอมพลป.กับชาวนา.jpg|thumb|left|Phibunsongkhram with Thai farmers in 1942 at Bang Khen|150px]]
Phibun exploited the [[Fall of France]] in June 1940 and the [[Japanese invasion of French Indochina]] in September 1940 to advance Thai interests in [[French Indochina]] following a border dispute with [[French Third Republic|France]]. Phibun believed Thailand could recover territories ceded to France by King [[Rama V]] because the French would avoid armed confrontation or offer serious resistance. Thailand fought against [[Vichy France]] over the disputed areas from October 1940 to May 1941. The technologically and numerically superior Thai force invaded French Indochina and attacked military targets in major cities. Despite Thai successes, the French tactical victory at the [[Battle of Ko Chang]] prompted intervention from the [[Empire of Japan|Japanese]], who mediated an [[armistice]] where the French were forced to cede the disputed territories to Thailand.

==== Alliance with Japan ====
{{Main|Thailand in World War II}}
Phibun and the Thai public viewed the outcome of the Franco-Thai War as a victory, but it resulted in the rapidly expanding Japanese gaining the right to occupy French Indochina. Although Phibun was ardently pro-Japanese, he now shared a border with them and felt threatened by a potential Japanese invasion. Phibun's administration also realised that Thailand would have to fend for itself if a Japanese invasion came, considering its deteriorating relationships with Western powers in the area.{{Citation needed|date=April 2015}}

When the Japanese invaded Thailand on 8 December 1941, (because of the [[International Date Line]] this occurred an hour and a half before the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]]), Phibun was reluctantly forced to order a general ceasefire after just one day of resistance and allow the Japanese armies to use the country as a base for their invasions of the [[British Empire|British]] colonies of [[British rule in Burma|Burma]] and [[British Malaya|Malaya]].<ref>Churchill, Winston S.'' The Second World War'', Vol 3, "The Grand Alliance", p. 548, Cassell & Co. Ltd, 1950</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pattayamail.com/504/columns.shtml#hd6|title=Pattaya Mail – Pattaya's First English Language Newspaper|website=pattayamail.com}}</ref> Hesitancy, however, gave way to enthusiasm after the Japanese rolled through the [[Malayan Campaign]] in a "[[Bicycle infantry#World Wars|Bicycle]] Blitzkrieg" with surprisingly little resistance.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.warbirdforum.com/tsuji2.htm|title=Colonel Tsuji of Malaya (part 2)| access-date = 30 June 2011|last=Ford|first= Daniel|date=June 2008|website=Warbirds Forum|quote=Though outnumbered two-to-one, the Japanese never stopped to consolidate their gains, to rest or regroup or resupply; they came down the main roads on bicycles.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.s1942.org.sg/s1942/bukit_chandu/directory_bicycles.htm|title=The Swift Japanese Assault|access-date=30 June 2011|year=2002|website=National Archives of Singapore|quote=Even the long-legged Englishmen could not escape our troops on bicycles.|archive-date=10 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210210208/http://www.s1942.org.sg/s1942/bukit_chandu/directory_bicycles.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> On 21 December Phibun signed a [[military alliance]] with Japan. The following month, on 25 January 1942, Phibun declared war on Britain and the United States. [[Union of South Africa|South Africa]] and [[New Zealand#Foreign relations and military|New Zealand]] declared war on Thailand on the same day. Australia followed soon after.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pattayamail.com/506/columns.shtml#hd6|title=Columns|website=pattayamail.com}}</ref> Phibun purged all who opposed the Japanese alliance from his government. [[Pridi Banomyong]] was appointed acting regent for the absent King [[Ananda Mahidol]], while [[Direk Jayanama]], the prominent foreign minister who had advocated continued resistance against the Japanese, was later sent to Tokyo as an ambassador. The United States considered Thailand to be a [[puppet state]] of Japan and refused to declare war on it. When the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] were victorious, the United States blocked British efforts to impose a punitive peace.<ref>I.C.B Dear, ed, ''The Oxford companion to World War II'' (1995) p. 1107{{ISBN?}}</ref>

====Removal====
In 1944, as the Japanese neared defeat and the underground anti-Japanese [[Free Thai Movement]] steadily grew in strength, the [[National Assembly of Thailand|National Assembly]] ousted Phibun as prime minister and his six-year reign as the military [[commander-in-chief]] came to an end. Phibun's resignation was partly forced by two grandiose plans: one was to relocate the capital from [[Bangkok]] to a remote site in the jungle near [[Phetchabun Province|Phetchabun]] in north central Thailand, and another was to build a "Buddhist city" in [[Saraburi Province|Saraburi]]. Announced at a time of severe economic difficulty, these ideas turned many government officers against him.<ref>{{cite journal|url= http://www.hawaii.edu/cseas/pubs/explore/eric.html|title= The Origin and Significance of the Emerald Buddha|access-date= 30 June 2011|last= Roeder|first= Eric|date= Fall 1999 |journal= Southeast Asian Studies|volume=3|publisher= Southeast Asian Studies Student Association|quote= Judith A. Stowe, ''Siam becomes Thailand'' (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1991), pp. 228–283|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110605004548/http://www.hawaii.edu/cseas/pubs/explore/eric.html|archive-date = 5 June 2011}}</ref> After his resignation, Phibun went to stay at the army headquarters in [[Lopburi Province|Lopburi]].{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

[[Khuang Aphaiwong]] replaced Phibun as prime minister, ostensibly to continue relations with the Japanese, but, in reality, to secretly assist the Free Thai Movement. At the war's end, Phibun was put on trial at Allied insistence on charges of having committed [[war crime]]s, mainly that of collaborating with the [[Axis powers]]. However, he was acquitted amid intense pressure as public opinion was still favourable to him, as he was thought to have done his best to protect Thai interests. Phibun's alliance with Japan had Thailand take advantage of Japanese support to expand Thai territory into Malaya and Burma.<ref>Aldrich, Richard J. ''The Key to the South:  Britain, the United States, and Thailand during the Approach of the Pacific War, 1929–1942.'' Oxford University Press, 1993. {{ISBN|0-19-588612-7}}</ref>

===Second premiership===
[[File:PPS 2.JPG|thumb|right|Plaek Phibunsongkhram at [[Hyde Park, New York]], 1955]]
[[File:Phibun 1947.jpg|thumb|right|Phibun coming back to Thai politics, led the junta in 1947 after the coup]]

{{unreferenced section|date=December 2011}}
In November 1947, Royal Thai Army units under the control of Phibun known as the [[1947 Coup Group (Thailand)|Coup Group]] carried out the [[1947 Thai coup d'état]] which forced then-Prime Minister [[Thawan Thamrongnawasawat]] to resign. The rebels installed [[Khuang Aphaiwong]] again as prime minister as the military coup risked international disapproval. Pridi Phanomyong was persecuted but was aided by British and US intelligence officers, and thus managed to escape the country. On 8 April 1948, Phibun assumed the position of Prime Minister after the military forced Khuang out of office.

Phibun's second premiership was notably different, abandoning the fascist styling and rhetoric that characterised his first premiership, and instead promoted a façade of democracy. The beginning of the [[Cold War]] saw Phibun align Thailand with the [[anti-communist]] camp.

Phibun supported UN action in the [[Korean War]] and dispatched an expeditionary force of 4,000 troops.<ref name="brit" />  and received large quantities of US aid following Thailand's entry into the [[Korean War]] as part of the [[United Nations Command]]'s multi-national allied force against the [[communist]] forces of [[North Korea]] and the People's Republic of China.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}} Phibun's anti-Chinese campaign was resumed, with the government restricting Chinese immigration and undertaking various measures to restrict economic domination of the Thai market by those of Chinese descent. Chinese schools and associations were once again shut down. Despite open pro-Western and anti-Chinese policies, in the late 1950s Phibun arranged to send two of the children of [[Sang Phathanothai]], his closest advisor, to China with the intention of establishing a backdoor channel for dialogue between China and Thailand. [[Sirin Phathanothai]], aged eight, and her brother, aged twelve, were sent to be brought up under the assistants of Premier [[Zhou Enlai]] as his [[Ward (law)|wards]]. Sirin later wrote ''[[The Dragon's Pearl]]'', an autobiography telling her experiences growing up in the 1950s and 1960s among the leaders of China.

Phibun was reportedly thrilled by the democracy and [[freedom of speech]] he had witnessed during a long trip abroad to the United States and Europe in 1955. Following the example of [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]] in London, he set up a "[[Speakers' Corner]]" at the [[Sanam Luang]] in Bangkok. Phibun began to democratize Thailand by allowing the formation of new political parties, [[amnesty|amnestied]] political opponents, and planned [[free elections]]. Phibun founded and became chairman of his own new political party, the [[Seri Manangkhasila Party]], which was dominated by the most influential in the military and the government. The Employment Act of January 1957 legalized trade unions, limited weekly working hours, regulated holidays and [[overtime]], and instituted health and safety regulations. The [[International Workers' Day]] became a public holiday.

====Power play====
{{multiple image
 | caption_align = center
 | header    = Thai Triumvirate, 1947–1957
 | footer = The other is Phibunsongkhram.
 | align     = left
 | width     = 120
 | image2    = Official portraits of Sarit Thanarat.jpg
 | caption2  = Field Marshal<br />[[Sarit Thanarat]]
 | image3    = Police General Phao Siyanon Portrait.png
 | caption3  = Police Gen.<br />[[Phao Siyanon]]
}}

Phibun's second premiership was longer but plagued with [[political instability]], and there were numerous attempts to oppose his rule and remove him from power. Unlike his first premiership, Phibun faced noticeable opposition from people connected to the Free Thai Movement due to his alliance with the Japanese, including from within the military. Additionally, Phibun was indebted to the powerful Coup Group that had returned him to power.

On 1 October 1948, the unsuccessful [[Army General Staff Plot]] was launched by members of the army general staff to topple his government, but failed when discovered by the Coup Group. As a result, more than fifty army and reserve officers and several prominent supporters of Pridi Phanomyong were arrested.

On 26 February 1949, the [[Palace Rebellion]] was another failed coup attempt against Phibun to restore Pridi Phanomyong by occupying the [[Grand Palace]] in Bangkok and declaring a new government led by [[Direk Jayanama]], a close associate of Pridi. The civilian rebels were quickly ousted from the palace, but fighting broke out between military rebels and loyalists which lasted for over a week.

On 29 June 1951, Phibun was attending a ceremony aboard the ''[[Manhattan Rebellion|Manhattan]]'', a US [[dredge boat]], when he was taken [[hostage]] by a group of [[Royal Thai Navy]] officers, who then quickly confined him aboard the warship ''Sri Ayutthaya''. Negotiations between the government and the coup organizers swiftly broke down, leading to violent street fighting in Bangkok between the navy and the army, which was supported by the [[Royal Thai Air Force]]. Phibun was able to escape and swim back to shore when the ''Sri Ayutthaya'' was bombed by the air force, and with their hostage gone, the navy were forced to lay down their arms.

{{Quote box|width=25%| "...tell your father [Pridi] that I want [him] to come back [and] help me work for the nation. I alone can no longer contest Sakdina."<ref name="สมศักดิ์"/>|Plaek to one of Pridi's sons in June 1957. }}

On 29 November 1951, the [[Silent Coup (Thailand)|Silent Coup]] was staged by the Coup Group and it consolidated the military's hold on the country. It reinstated the [[Constitution of Thailand#1932 constitution|Constitution of 1932]], which effectively eliminated the [[Senate of Thailand|Senate]], established a [[unicameral legislature]] composed equally of elected and government-appointed members, and allowed serving military officers to supplement their commands with important [[Minister (government)|ministerial portfolios]].

In 1954 Phibun allied Thailand further with the West in the [[Cold War]] by helping establish [[SEATO]].<ref name="brit" />

In 1956, it became clearer that Plaek, allied to Phao, was losing to another influential group led by Sarit which consisted of "Sakdina" (royalties and royalists). Both Plaek and Phao intended to bring home [[Pridi Banomyong]] to clear his name from the mystery around the death of King Rama VIII. However, the US government disapproved, and they cancelled the plan.<ref name="สมศักดิ์">{{Cite web|url=https://prachatai.com/journal/2010/10/31599|title=สมศักดิ์ เจียมธีรสกุล: พูนศุข พนมยงค์ ให้สัมภาษณ์กรณีสวรรคต พฤษภาคม 2500|website=prachatai.com}}</ref>

===1957 coup and exile===
[[File:แปลก พิบูลสงคราม ในหนังสือธรรมศาสตร์.jpg|thumb|Phibunsongkhram in 1957|200px]]
[[File:Pramuan Phap Song Phanuat (1956, p 06).jpg|thumb|left|On 31 October 1956, the monk Bhumibalo visited the [[Government House of Thailand|Government House]]. Phibun is on the right. The King clashed with Field Marshal Plaek over his restriction of royal power.]]
In February 1957, public opinion turned against Phibun at the end of his second term when his party was suspected of fraudulent practices during an election, including the intimidation of the opposition, buying votes, and [[electoral fraud]]. In addition, critics of Phibun accused him of a lack of respect for the [[Thai monarchy]], as the anti-[[aristocratic]] prime minister had always sought to limit the role of the monarchy to a constitutional minimum and had taken on religious functions that traditionally belonged to the monarch. For example, Phibun led the celebrations of the 2500th anniversary of Buddhism in 1956/57 instead of the King [[Bhumibol Adulyadej]], who was openly critical of Phibun. On 16 September 1957, Phibun was eventually overthrown in a coup d'etat by members of the Royal Thai Army under the command of Field Marshal [[Sarit Thanarat]], who had earlier sworn to be Phibun's most loyal subordinate. Sarit was supported by many royalists who wanted to regain a foothold, and there were rumours that the United States was "deeply involved" in the coup.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/446100|title=American Policy in Thailand|author=Darling, Frank C.|year=1962|journal=The Western Political Quarterly|volume=15|issue=1|pages=93–110|doi=10.2307/446100|jstor=446100|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Phibun was then forced into exile after the coup, first fleeing to [[Cambodia]], but later settled in Japan after Sarit's new regime rejected his requests to allow him to return to Thailand. In 1960, Phibun briefly travelled to India to be a [[monk]] in the Buddhist temple in [[Bodhgaya]]. {{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}