October 1977 Thai coup d'état

The October 1977 Thai coup d'état was a bloodless military coup which took place in Thailand on 20 October 1977, staged by the Royal Thai Armed Forces (RTAF).[1] The coup was carried out under the nominal authority of Admiral Sangad Chaloryu of the Royal Thai Navy, head of the National Administrative Reform Council (NARC),[2] but it was effectively led by General Kriangsak Chamanan of the Royal Thai Army, Supreme Commander of the RTAF.[3] It led to the deposition of Prime Minister Thanin Kraivichien, who assumed the office following the 1976 coup d'état (which was also led by Admiral Sangad and resulted in the establishment of the NARC[4]), in the immediate aftermath of the Thammasat University massacre.[5]:91

Map of Thailand.

The October coup was preceded by the March 1977 coup d'état attempt, staged by a group of younger Royal Thai Army officers known as the "Young Turks", led by General Prasert Thammasiri, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army. Their attempted coup failed.[6][7]

The military justified their intervention in October because Thanin's government had divided the country, had virtually no public support, the economic situation had worsened, and people in general disagreed with such a long-term suspension of democracy.[8]

General Kriangsak assumed the office of Prime Minister, and served until his resignation in 1980.[9]

See also

References
  1. "Another Coup in Thailand". The New York Times. October 21, 1977. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  2. "Thai Junta Ousts Civilian Regime, Charging It Delayed Vote Too Long". The New York Times. October 21, 1977. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  3. "Kriangsak Chomanan". The Economist. 2004-01-08. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  4. Staff report (Oct. 18, 1976). "A Nightmare of Lynching and Burning" Time.
  5. Mallet, Marian (1978). "Causes and Consequences of the October '76 Coup". Journal of Contemporary Asia. 8 (1). Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  6. "Thai Group Proclaims a Coup; Takeover Denied by Government". The New York Times. March 26, 1977. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  7. "Thai Coup Attempt, Mostly Just a War Of Words, Is Foiled". The New York Times. March 27, 1977. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  8. Chai-Anan Samudavanija (1982), The Thai Young Turks, Singapur: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, p. 34
  9. "Thai Premier Kriangsak Resigns". The Washington Post. February 29, 1980. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
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