Phao Siyanon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Police General Phao Siyanon (Thai: เผ่า ศรียานนท์, also spelled Sriyanond and Sriyanon; 1 March 1910 – 21 November 1960) was a director general of Thailand's national police who was notorious for his excesses against political opponents. He eventually fled the country and died in exile.
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Police General Phao Siyanon เผ่า ศรียานนท์ | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of Interior | |
| In office 31 March 1957 – 16 September 1957 | |
| Prime Minister | Plaek Phibunsongkhram |
| Preceded by | Plaek Phibunsongkhram |
| Succeeded by | Praphas Charusathien |
| Director-General of the Royal Thai Police | |
| In office 2 July 1957 – 14 September 1957 | |
| Preceded by | Luang Charttrakankosol |
| Succeeded by | Luang Charttrakankosol |
| Director of the Department of Administrative Intelligence | |
| In office 15 January 1954 – 14 September 1957 | |
| Prime Minister | Plaek Phibunsongkhram |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 March 1910 Bangkok, Siam |
| Died | 21 November 1960 (aged 50) Geneva, Switzerland |
| Spouse | Udomlak Siyanon |
| Children | Phonglak Prasatwinitchai |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | Royal Thai Police |
| Rank | General Admiral Air Chief Marshal Police General |
An ambitious army officer of Thai-Burmese ancestry,[1] Phao married the daughter of General Phin Choonhavan.[2] He took part in the 1947 coup d'état that ended the last of Pridi Phanomyong's attempts to create democracy in post-World War II Thailand, restoring disgraced Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram to power.
Made deputy director of the police, Phao quickly staged a show trial of the alleged "assassins" of King Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII), in which three members of the palace staff were found guilty despite a lack of evidence and were eventually executed even though they had earlier been found innocent.
Phao was promoted to the position of director of the police in 1951, by which time he had become one of the country's all-powerful triumvirate. A client of the CIA, Phao received funds and hardware to build his personal fortune, as well as the expertise of US paramilitaries such as James William Lair to turn the police into an alternative force to oppose his military rival, Sarit Thanarat.
Phao established an intimate circle of police officers, known generally as the "knights of the diamond ring", which was notorious for its treatment of opponents of the government and the police generals, even resorting to assassination and murder. Their crimes were many:
Phao was extremely wealthy. He demanded protection money from businessmen, rigged the gold exchange, and blackmailed corporations into giving him huge shareholdings. He also profited greatly from the opium trade. Police units transferred opium from the poppy fields of the Golden Triangle to Bangkok, ready to be exported. Trucks, planes, and boats which had been supplied to the police by the CIA, were instead used to move opium, which the police carefully guarded.
Phao lost power when Phibun was overthrown by Sarit Thanarat in 1957. He fled to Switzerland, where he died at the age of 50.
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King Rama IX Coronation Medal
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25th Buddhist Century Celebration Medal
Taiwan :
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Tripod (1954)
Kingdom of Laos :
Grand Cross of the Order of the Royal Statue (1955)
Cambodia :
Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Sahametrei (1955)
USA :
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