Chatichai Choonhavan was of Thai Chinese descent with ancestry from Chenghai District of Shantou City, Guangdong Province, China.
20 Facts About Chatichai Choonhavan
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Chatichai Choonhavan's father was the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army from 1948 to 1954 and exerted a strong influence on the country's politics and economy.
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Chatichai Choonhavan studied at Debsirin School, a long-standing, prestigious, all-boys school in Bangkok, and at the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy.
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Chatichai Choonhavan entered active military service as second lieutenant and cavalry platoon leader in 1940.
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Chatichai Choonhavan served in the Korean War as the commander of the 1st Cavalry Battalion.
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Chatichai Choonhavan ousted the Phin-Phao clique and filled the important political and military posts with his own followers.
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Chatichai Choonhavan was transferred to the diplomatic service and assigned to the relatively unimportant post of ambassador to Argentina.
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Chatichai Choonhavan continued as deputy foreign minister after the 1973 democratic uprising, serving in the interim cabinet of Sanya Dharmasakti.
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Chatichai Choonhavan was elected member of parliament, representing a constituency in Nakhon Ratchasima Province.
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Chatichai Choonhavan served as minister of foreign affairs from 17 March 1975 to 21 April 1976.
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From 1980 to 1983, Chatichai Choonhavan served as industry minister under Prime Minister Prem Tinsulanonda.
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The Thai Nation Party won the most votes in the 1988 Thai general election, resulting in Chatichai Choonhavan being appointed prime minister on 4 August 1988.
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Chatichai Choonhavan's government improved relations with communist-ruled Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, which had been Thailand's enemies during the Cold War.
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Chatichai Choonhavan's slogan was to turn Indochina "from a battlefield into a marketplace".
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Chatichai Choonhavan's government initiated many infrastructure projects, including an expansion of the telecommunications network in partnership with the state-owned Telephone Organization of Thailand, development of the Eastern Seaboard of Thailand, and road and rail networks in partnership with the Mass Rapid Transit Authority in the Greater Bangkok Area.
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The parties and politicians in Chatichai Choonhavan's coalition scrambled overtly over the distribution of public funds.
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Chatichai Choonhavan was heavily criticised when he tried to downplay the damage caused by Typhoon Gay, which resulted in 360 deaths, in the same way.
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Chatichai Choonhavan's government emphasised the economic development of the periphery at the expense of Bangkok's big businesses and military expenditures, which it tried to cut.
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Chatichai Choonhavan was known for his fondness of cigars, fine wines, and Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
20.
On 6 May 1998, at the age of 78, Chatichai Choonhavan died from liver cancer in a hospital in London.