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Thailand November 1971 Coup
In November 1971, Prime Minister Thanom executed a coup
against his own government, thereby ending the three-year
experiment with what had passed for parliamentary democracy. The
1968 constitution was suspended, political parties banned, and
undisguised military rule imposed on the country. Under the new
regime, executive and legislative authority was held by a
military junta, the National Executive Council. Heading the
council was a triumvirate that included Thanom, who retained the
office of prime minister; Field Marshal Praphat Charusathian, his
deputy prime minister; and Thanom's son (also Praphat's son-in-
law), Narong Kittikachorn, an army colonel.
Despite stern moves to suppress opposition, popular
dissatisfaction with the dictatorial regime mounted in the
universities and labor organizations as well as among rival
military factions. The discontent focused on United States
support for Thanom, the growth of Japanese economic influence,
and the official corruption that the regime made no effort to
conceal. The civilian political elite joined students and workers
in opposing Thanom's apparent aim to perpetuate a political
dynasty through his son, Narong, whose rise the officer corps
particularly resented. Thanom's aggrandizement of his family was
at odds with the image he tried to project and the standards of
the "civic religion" with its call for veneration of "NationReligion -King." The triumvirate also ignored the king, who had
moderated his earlier enthusiasm for Thanom, and opponents
charged that the junta disregarded religion. Some critics
detected signs of republicanism in the regime and feared another
Thanom-sponsored coup to overthrow the monarchy.
Data as of September 1987
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