Ex-Army General Named Thailand’s Prime Minister

An extroverted, 66-year-old former army general, Chatichai Choonhavan, was named Thursday as Thailand’s prime minister, becoming the first elected member of Parliament to hold the post in more than a decade.

Chatichai, as leader of the strongest party in last month’s national elections, was thrust into office when the incumbent, Prem Tinsulanonda, withdrew from the contest. King Bhumibol Adulyadej made Chatichai’s selection official Thursday by royal command.

Prem, 68, a cagey, low-profile leader, headed the Thai government for more than eight years, surviving two attempted coups and overseeing a steadily strengthening economy.

The Thai constitution does not require that a prime minister be elected, and the failure of any political party to establish a majority position has led to a series of coalition governments headed by military strongmen. In the 1980s, however, advocates of greater democracy here have called for an elected prime minister.

Chatichai, at first a reluctant candidate for the post, likely was surprised to have the honor fall to him. When his Thai Nation party received a plurality in the July 24 elections, Chatichai declared that he was supporting Prem.

“A Chatichai government,” he insisted, “wouldn’t last three months. . . . I do not have the military backing.”

But Prem, impatient with politicians and apparently losing popular support, had had enough. “I have been trying in the past eight years to prop up democracy in this country,” he told party leaders. “Now it is your turn to undertake that responsibility.”

Moves to Form Coalition

With the colorless Prem out, Chatichai moved quickly to form a coalition around his party, which has ties to big business and strong roots in the provinces. Political trading over Cabinet posts continued Thursday.

Some Thai political columnists have questioned whether Chatichai will be tough enough to control a fractious National Assembly and deal with the military, big businessmen and other shakers of Thai politics. But whatever course the coalition takes in the weeks ahead, the prime minister and his family have already given Thailand’s government a new look at the top.

Chatichai Choonhavan (pronounced Chachai Choon-ha-wan) was born to a prominent Thai family. His father, Pin, was a field marshal and held high office in several military governments. The son, at 32, became the youngest general in Thai history and appeared headed for a spectacular career when the father fell out of favor in a military power struggle.

Chatichai left the military in 1958 and spent the next 15 years in political exile as a diplomat, a period that earned him a lasting image as a playboy. In a recent article in the English-language Bangkok Post, Chatichai recalled his first assignment as charge d’affaires of the Thai legation in Buenos Aires:

“Six years in Argentina was like paradise. No guests, no visitors, no trade, no students. Only a few friends visited us. I played polo every day, then went to cocktail parties before going home at 6 or 7 in the morning.”