Prasong Soonsiri (; born 11 August 1927) is a Thai politician, and former

Royal Thai Air Force The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) (; ) is the air force of the Kingdom of Thailand. Since its establishment in 1913 as one of the earliest air forces of Asia, the Royal Thai Air Force has engaged in numerous major and minor conflicts. During the ...

squadron leader, Thai

Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

, and Secretary-General of the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...

Education and careers

Prasong started his civil service as a teacher at Ratchaburi boarding school later transferred to military service at the Directorate of Intelligence, Royal Thai Air Force to the rank of a Pilot Officer. He was a close confidant following Siddhi Savetsila to the Air Force Security Bureau. From then in 1966, he received a scholarship to study intelligence at the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. Upon returning, he moved to the Office of the

and in 1980, was the Secretary-General of the National Security Council, following the retirement of Siddhi Savetsila. In 1986, he resigned from the Secretary-General of the National Security Council, to be Secretary-General to the Prime Minister

Prem Tinsulanonda Prem Tinsulanonda (, , ; 26 August 1920 – 26 May 2019) was a Thai military officer, politician, and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Thailand from 1980 to 1988. During Prem’s tenure as prime minister, he was credited with end ...

. His image of the will of the

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as t ...

expert resulting in the nickname of "

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

of Thailand" and got another nickname, "Co-Prime Minister" from Prem's secretary-general.

Critics

Prasong has been a long-time critic of

Thaksin Shinawatra Thaksin Shinawatra (, ; born 26 July 1949) is a Thai businessman and politician who was the 23rd prime minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006. Since 2009 he has also been a citizen of Montenegro. Thaksin founded the mobile phone operator A ...

since Thaksin's entry into politics in 1994. Thaksin joined the Palang Dharma Party in late 1994 under the invitation of

Chamlong Srimuang Chamlong Srimuang (; born 5 July 1935) is a Thai activist and former politician. A former general, he was a leader of the "Young Turks" military clique, founded and led the Palang Dharma Party, served for six years as governor of Bangkok, led Bl ...

, who had just reclaimed the position of party leader from

Boonchu Rojanastien Boonchu Rojanastien (; , Chinese: 黃聞波, Huang Wenbo born January 20, 1921, Chon Buri Province, Thailand, died March 19, 2007, Bangkok)19 September 2006 Thai military coup that overthrew

's elected government. Prasong had developed plans for a military coup as early as July 2006. A palace insider and favorite of King

Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej (5 December 192713 October 2016), titled Rama IX, was King of Thailand from 1946 until Death and funeral of Bhumibol Adulyadej, his death in 2016. His reign of 70 years and 126 days is the longest of any List of Thai mo ...

, Prasong was later appointed by the junta to the National Legislative Assembly.ประสงค์ หวั่นสหรัฐฯ ใช้อู่ตะเภา หาข้อมูลยิงขีปนาวุธ
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Honours

Prasong has received the following decorations and awards in the

Honours System An order is a visible honour awarded by a sovereign state, monarch, dynastic house or organisation to a person, typically in recognition of individual merit, that often comes with distinctive insignia such as collars, medals, badges, and sash ...

of Thailand: * Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Most Noble

Order of the Crown of Thailand The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand (; ) is a Thai order, established in 1869 by King Rama V of The Kingdom of Siam (now Thailand) for Thais, the royal family, governmental employees, and foreign dignitaries for their outstanding serv ...

* Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Most Exalted

Order of the White Elephant __NOTOC__ The Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant (; ) is an order (decoration), order of Thailand. It was established in 1861 by King Mongkut, Rama IV of the Thailand, Kingdom of Siam. Along with the Order of the Crown of Thailand, it is r ...

* Grand Companion of the Most Illustrious

Order of Chula Chom Klao The Most Illustrious Order of Chula Chom Klao (; ) was established on 16 November 1873 by King Rama V of The Kingdom of Siam (now Thailand) to commemorate the 90th Jubilee of the Chakri Dynasty and bears his name (จุลจอมเกล� ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soonsiri, Prasong Living people Prasong Soonsiri 1927 births Prasong Soonsiri Prasong Soonsiri Prasong Soonsiri

Education and careers

Critics

Honours

See also

References