11 Facts About Wan Waithayakon

Prince Varna Vaidayakara, known in the West as Wan Waithayakon, was a Thai royal prince and diplomat.

Wan Waithayakon was President of the Eleventh Session of the United Nations General Assembly while serving as Thailand's Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

Wan Waithayakon began his education at Suan Kularb School and Rajvidyalai before continuing his education in England, where he earned a degree with honours in History from Balliol College, Oxford.

Prince Wan Waithayakon began his career as a foreign service officer in 1917.

Wan Waithayakon was appointed advisor to his cousin, King Vajiravudh, in 1922.

Wan Waithayakon was sent to Europe again in 1926 as the minister accredited to the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

Prince Wan Waithayakon returned to Thailand in 1930, to accept a professorial chair at the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University.

In 1947, Prince Wan Waithayakon was appointed ambassador to the United States and served concurrently as ambassador to the United Nations.

Wan Waithayakon served as Thailand's foreign minister from 1952 to 1957 and again in 1958.

Wan Waithayakon coined Thai words from English that are in use today.

Prince Wan Waithayakon won many academic honours and is regarded as one of the founding fathers of philological textual criticism in Thailand.