Royal Thai Army The Royal Thai Army or RTA (; ) is the army of Thailand and the oldest and largest branch of the Royal Thai Armed Forces. History Origin The Royal Thai Army is responsible for protecting the kingdom's sovereignty. The army was formed in 187 ...

Council for National Security The Council for National Security (; ; abbreviated CNS (), was the military junta that ruled Thailand between its 2006 Thai coup d'état, coup d'état against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on 19 September 2006 until the later coup d'état on ...

Airports of Thailand Airports of Thailand plc (AOT) () is a public company that manages ten international airports in Thailand. AOT was established on September 20, 2002, as a result of the privatisation of the state-owned Airports Authority of Thailand (AAT). At t ...

CAT Telecom CAT Telecom Public Company Limited (Communication Authority of Thailand : การสื่อสารแห่งประเทศไทย) So, then as known as CAT Telecom Plc. () is the state-owned company that runs Thailand’s interna ...

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

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 ...

baht The baht (; , ; currency sign, sign: ฿; ISO 4217, code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). Prior to decimalisation, the baht was divided into eight ''fueang'' (, ), each of eight ''at'' (, ). The ...

Thai Rak Thai The Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT; , , ; "Thais Love Thais Party") was a list of political parties in Thailand, Thai political party founded in 1998. From 2001 to 2006, it was the ruling party under its founder, Prime Minister of Thailand, Prime Mini ...

Sonthi Boonyaratkalin Sonthi Boonyaratglin (, , ; born 2 October 1946) is a Thai former general who was Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army and former head of the Council for Democratic Reform, the military junta that ruled the kingdom.The Nation
10 Newsmakers in 2006
3 January 2007 However, in September 2007 he was demoted to be Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Defense Ministry, while his rival, General Anupong Paochinda, was promoted to lead the Army. As a result, Saprang retired from the Army in 2008.

Education and early career

Education

Saprang was born into a military family on 8 July 1948 in Lampang Province. He graduated from the 7th Class of the

Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School The Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School or AFAPS (Thai: โรงเรียนเตรียมทหาร) is a senior high school in Nakhon Nayok Province. It is a flagship institution of the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters. The c ...

and the 18th Class of the

Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy (CRMA) (; ) is the service academy of Royal Thai Army (RTA). Established in 1887 it has graduated the majority of Thailand's military leaders, many of whom have become Prime Ministers of Thailand, Thai prime m ...

. His classmates included General Paisan Katanyu (appointed Deputy Army Commander after the coup), Admiral Bannawit Kengrien (appointed to the National Legislative Assembly after the coup, and leader of its Suvarnabhumi Airport committee), and General Lertrat Rattavanich.Bangkok Post
Loyal to the very tip of his tongue
, 15 August 2006 He later graduated from the 43rd class of the

National Defence College of Thailand The National Defence College of Thailand or NDC (; ) is an education organization that provides advanced training for both senior military officers and civilians. It is operated by the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters of the Ministry of Def ...

in 2001. His NDC thesis concerned the role of military forces in the control of illegal

narcotics The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "I make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...

. His NDC classmates included Kraisi Karnasuta, governor of state energy company

EGAT The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) (; ) is a state enterprise, managed by the Ministry of Energy, responsible for electric power generation and transmission as well as bulk electric energy sales in Thailand. EGAT, establishe ...

.

Early career

Saprang started his military career in 1969 as rifle

platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

leader in the 3rd Infantry

Battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

, 4th

Regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

al Combat Team. He claimed to have fought 200 battles during the course of his military career. Saprang was appointed commander of the 1st Infantry Battalion of the 4th Infantry Regiment in 1982, stationed in

Nakhon Sawan Province Nakhon Sawan (, , ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (''changwat''). It lies in lower northern Thailand, neighbouring the provinces of Kamphaeng Phet, Phichit, Phetchabun, Lopburi, Sing Buri, Chai Nat, Uthai Thani, and Tak (cl ...

(near the northwestern border with

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

). In 1985, he became commander of the 1st Infantry Battalion in the 19th Infantry Regiment, stationed at Surasee Fort,

Kanchanaburi Kanchanaburi (, ) is a town municipality ('' thesaban mueang'') in Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand. The town of lies to the southeast of Erawan National Park within Kanchanaburi Province, approximately 120km west of Bangkok. In 2006 it had a po ...

(on the western border with

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

). Saprang was then promoted to Regimental Commanding Officer of the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School in 1990. In 1991, he began a six-year stint as Regimental Commanding Officer of the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy. In April 1997, Saprang was shortly transferred to the Ministry of Defense as a

staff officer A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large milita ...

, before being promoted in October 1997 to Commanding General of the 15th Infantry Division, at the time stationed in Pran Buri,

Prachuap Khiri Khan Province Prachuap Khiri Khan (, ) is one of the western Provinces of Thailand, provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It is in the northern part of the Malay Peninsula, some south of Bangkok. Neighboring provinces include Phetchaburi province, Phetchabu ...

. In 2003, he was promoted to 3rd

Corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

Commander. In 2004, it was strongly rumoured that Saprang might be promoted to command the 4th Army, replacing General Pongsak Ekbannasingh. General Pongsak had been criticized for ineffectually fighting the

South Thailand insurgency The Southern Thailand Insurgency (; ) is an ongoing conflict centered in southern Thailand. It originated in 1948 as an ethnic and religious separatist insurgency in the historical Malays (ethnic group), Malay Patani (historical region), Patani ...

after 39 successful arson attacks occurred in just one night. Pongsak ended up being replaced in April 2004 by Pisarn Wattanawongkhiri.

2006 Coup

In a surprise to many observers, Saprang was promoted to 3rd Army Area Commander in October 2005, headquartered in

Phitsanulok Phitsanulok (, ) is a city municipality in northern Thailand and the capital of Phitsanulok province. It had a city population of 60,827 and an urban population of approximately 200,000 in 2024, making it Thailand's 19th-most populous city p ...

and responsible for most of

northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating ...

and northeastern Thailand. Analysts had expected Prime Minister Thaksin to promote his own classmates from AFAPS Class 10 to the powerful position instead. At the same time, also in a surprise move, Deputy Army Commander

Sonthi Boonyaratkalin Sonthi Boonyaratglin (, , ; born 2 October 1946) is a Thai former general who was Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army and former head of the Council for Democratic Reform, the military junta that ruled the kingdom. Saprang and Sonthi started planning for the coup 7 to 8 months in advance, in approximately February 2006. Coup planning occurred prior to the April 2006 elections, during Thaksin's controversial sale of

Shin Corporation Intouch Holdings PCL (; formerly Shin Corporation) is a Thai holding company which focuses on the telecommunication industry. It is the parent company of Advanced Info Service (AIS), the largest mobile phone operator in Thailand, and Thaicom, ...

to

Temasek Holdings Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited ( ) is a Singaporean State ownership, state-owned multinational investment firm. Incorporated on 25 June 1974, Temasek has a net portfolio of US$288 billion (S$389 billion) as of 2024. Headquartered at Orchard ...

and the peak of the

People's Alliance for Democracy The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD; ; commonly known as "Yellow Shirts") was a Thai reactionary, monarchist political movement and pressure group. It was originally a coalition of protesters against Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Prime M ...

's campaign to oust the government. In July 2006, Saprang gave an interview where he stated that Thai politics was below standard and that the Kingdom's leadership was weak. He also claimed that Thailand had a false democracy. He denied that such criticism constituted military interference in politics. At the same time, the Thai media speculated that in the October 2006 annual Army reshuffle, Saprang would not be promoted to Assistant Army Commander and would not be allowed to retain his position of 3rd Army Area Commander. In July, Saprang's own Deputy Commander in the 3rd Army Area, Major General Manas Paorik, warned the media that "a certain military officer who aspires to become Assistant Army Commander" was planning a coup. In the weeks leading up to the coup, Saprang openly mobilised soldiers and northern residents to rebel against the government. Saprang played a key role on the evening of 19 September 2006, securing Thaksin's home town and power base of

Chiang Mai Chiang Mai, sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the List of municipalities in Thailand#Largest cities by urban population, second largest city in Thailan ...

.Straits Times
Straight-talking general on the rise
21 February 2007 That same night, he was appointed assistant Secretary-General of the CNS. The coup was executed just a week before the announcement of the Army's annual reshuffle.

After the 2006 coup

A week after the coup, Saprang was promoted to Assistant Army Commander, alongside fellow coup leader

Anupong Paochinda Anupong Paochinda (; ; born 10 October 1949) is a Thai politician and retired army officer. He held the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army from 2007 until his retirement on 30 September 2010. While a lieutenant general holding ...

. His predecessor, General Pornchai Kranlert, had not taken part in the coup and was transferred to an inactive position. Saprang was also promoted from

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

to General.

CNS Special Operations Center

On 27 December 2006, it was revealed that the Thai Cabinet had approved over half a billion

baht The baht (; , ; currency sign, sign: ฿; ISO 4217, code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). Prior to decimalisation, the baht was divided into eight ''fueang'' (, ), each of eight ''at'' (, ). The ...

worth of funding for a 14,000-man secret, anti-protest, special operations force, of which General Saprang was the commander. The so-called CNS Special Operations Center, funded with 556 million baht diverted from the Defense Ministry,

Royal Thai Police The Royal Thai Police (RTP) (; ) is the national police force of Thailand. The RTP employs between 210,700 and 230,000 officers, roughly 17 percent of all civil servants (excluding the military and the employees of state-owned enterprises). The R ...

, and government emergency reserve fund, had been secretly established by the CNS on 1 December 2006 in order to control protests.

TOT and CAT Telecom

Saprang was appointed by the junta to become chairman of the Board of Directors of

Airports of Thailand Airports of Thailand plc (AOT) () is a public company that manages ten international airports in Thailand. AOT was established on September 20, 2002, as a result of the privatisation of the state-owned Airports Authority of Thailand (AAT). At t ...

(AoT) and also Chairman of the Boards of TOT and

CAT Telecom CAT Telecom Public Company Limited (Communication Authority of Thailand : การสื่อสารแห่งประเทศไทย) So, then as known as CAT Telecom Plc. () is the state-owned company that runs Thailand’s interna ...

, two major state-owned telecommunication companies. Saprang's first move as TOT Chairman was to hand-pick three Army colonels and vocal Thaksin-critic Vuthiphong Priebjrivat to sit on the state enterprise's board of directors. Saprang transferred TOT President Somkuan Bruminhent to an inactive position and appointed Vuthiphong new president. He then hand-picked all 10 other directors. Saprang noted in an interview that, "if telecommunication businesses are in private hands, the country won't be safe." The junta had earlier announced plans to cancel the

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...

of both TOT and CAT Telecom and to merge the two state enterprises. Under Saprang's leadership, TOT reaffirmed its ownership rights to all existing backbone telecommunications networks under a new strategy to act as a "genuine" national telecom company. The new strategy was expected to increase political and business tensions. Under the "build-transfer-operate" (BTO) concession agreements that TOT signed with private telecom operators, the TOT technically owns all fixed-line, mobile, and optical fibre networks in Thailand. However, it had never exercised those rights in the past. Vuthiphong was fired from the TOT board and his position of acting TOT President in June 2007. He immediately accused the Army of using the TOT as an unmonitored

slush fund A slush fund is a fund or account used for miscellaneous income and expenses, particularly when these are corrupt or illegal. Such funds may be kept hidden and maintained separately from money that is used for legitimate purposes. Slush funds m ...

. He claimed that an unnamed Army unit had requested that TOT buy 800 million baht worth of electronic equipment. Upon receiving the request, Vuthipong demanded to know why neither the Army nor the Defence Ministry used their own secret budgets to purchase the equipment, and why an internal Army unit, rather than the kingdom's main national security organisations, had made the request. Saprang denied that there was any lack of transparency in the request for financial support. Vuthipong claimed that the equipment should only have cost 30 million baht, not 800 million baht. He was fired and expelled from the board soon after refusing to sign off on the deal. The board later appointed Col. Natee Sukolrat as the new TOT President and accepted the army's donation request. Under his leadership, TOT's performance dropped. Revenues for the first half of 2007 fell 13 percent year-on-year, while

net profit In business and Accountancy, accounting, net income (also total comprehensive income, net earnings, net profit, bottom line, sales profit, or credit sales) is an entity's income minus cost of goods sold, expenses, depreciation and Amortization (a ...

fell 36.1 percent. Fixed line revenue dropped 16 percent, and public telephone and international call revenue by 30 percent each. As Chairman of CAT Telecom, Saprang was accused by the founders of PTV, a new satellite television station, of being behind CAT Telecom's refusal to grant an internet link from Bangkok to a satellite up-link station in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. PTV was established by several ex-executives of the

Thai Rak Thai The Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT; , , ; "Thais Love Thais Party") was a list of political parties in Thailand, Thai political party founded in 1998. From 2001 to 2006, it was the ruling party under its founder, Prime Minister of Thailand, Prime Mini ...

party. CAT Telecom claimed that it never received PTV's application for internet access. Under Saprang's leadership, 80,000 subscribers of Thai Mobile, a TOT/CAT joint venture mobile phone operator, were cut off temporarily in early May 2007 when owners TOT and CAT Telecom failed to pay bills to a major supplier. Thai Mobile had accumulated significant losses and the company was not able to make its debt payments or supplier payments. The partners had stopped payments to the supplier, Samart Corporation, for nearly a year, until Samart threatened to suspend services within three days. After no payment, it delivered on its threat. TOT was subsequently able to negotiate with Samart to restart the service.

Airports of Thailand

Purging of AoT management

A week after Saprang hinted at a reshuffle of AoT top management, AoT President Chotisak Asapaviriya was forced to resign, citing health reasons, while the Directors of

Suvarnabhumi Airport Suvarnabhumi Airport is the main international airport serving Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. Located mostly in Racha Thewa subdistrict, Bang Phli district, Samut Prakan province, it covers an area of , making it one of the biggest intern ...

and AoT Commercial Operations were dismissed. Police Commissioner General Seripisut Temiyavej was appointed an AoT Director.

Suvarnabhumi Airport

As AoT Chairman, Saprang spearheaded an effort to reopen

Don Mueang Airport Don Mueang International Airport — known as Bangkok International Airport before 2006 — is one of two international airports serving Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, the other being Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK). The airport is considered ...

in parallel with the newly opened

Suvarnabhumi Airport Suvarnabhumi Airport is the main international airport serving Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. Located mostly in Racha Thewa subdistrict, Bang Phli district, Samut Prakan province, it covers an area of , making it one of the biggest intern ...

, despite objections from the Civil Aviation Department, airlines, and internal studies within

Airports of Thailand Airports of Thailand plc (AOT) () is a public company that manages ten international airports in Thailand. AOT was established on September 20, 2002, as a result of the privatisation of the state-owned Airports Authority of Thailand (AAT). At t ...

. Sixty airlines threatened to halt flights to Thailand if they were forced to move back to Don Mueang airport. Saprang also refused to authorize urgent repairs on the airport tarmac, despite warnings from engineers. Karun Chandrarangsu, president of the Engineering Institute of Thailand noted, "Suvarnabhumi is like a patient in a coma who continues to suffer from severe bleeding. Stopping the blood flow now is more urgent and important than debating what caused the injury." The Engineering Institute of Thailand sent a formal warning to AoT in November 2006 about the urgent need to drain water from beneath the tarmac and noted that immediate action should be taken. "The AOT did nothing about the problem", Suebsak Promboon of the EIT noted. "The situation might not have become this bad if the water had been drained then." Suebsak Promboon, a senior foundation engineer and a member of the Tortrakul Yomnak-led airport tarmac inspection panel, accused the AOT of refusing to take any actions to solve the problems at the airport. The airport faced ongoing operational challenges, including a computer virus that shut down the automated luggage bomb-scanning system in June 2007. A study by the

International Air Transport Association The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...

(IATA) released in July 2007 found the airport unsafe, citing numerous spots where checked passengers can meet people who have not passed through security checkpoints. Serious security gaps at Suvarnabhumi Airport became known to the public beginning in early 2007. The

International Air Transport Association The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...

(IATA) found that there were many spots in the passenger terminal where checked passengers could meet people who have not passed through security checks and could receive unchecked objects and then carry them on board aircraft. The IATA also suggested that AoT deploy its own security staff instead of contracting out the job to the Loxley-ICTS consortium. AoT threatened the consortium with contract termination but didn't follow through with its threat, even though the consortium failed to live up to its contract. Six months later, AoT stated that it still couldn't make up its mind on how it should improve airport security. AoT said it was open to all possible options and had taken no action to upgrade the problem.

Trip to Europe

On Tuesday 27 February 2007, Saprang led a 13-member delegation to Europe, on what was claimed to be a week-long trip to study safety and security measures at major European airports. Many delegates and accompanying members shared the same

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

, and the trip, which cost 7.2 million

baht The baht (; , ; currency sign, sign: ฿; ISO 4217, code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). Prior to decimalisation, the baht was divided into eight ''fueang'' (, ), each of eight ''at'' (, ). The ...

was attacked for "squandering" state funds for personal pleasure, disbursing unrealistic expenses, and inflating costs. The travel agent alone received a 500,000 baht commission fee for booking the trip. Saprang denied any wrongdoing and claimed he was the victim of a smear campaign. He also noted that "If you knew my character, you would know that even if a relative joined the trip he should have realised that he should work hard." He also noted that instead of being a viewed as a defendant, he should be viewed as a hero for bringing down the Thaksin government. Saprang then summoned the leader of the AoT labour union in order to identify who leaked information about the trip to his accusers.

Financial performance

In the first quarter after Saprang was appointed chairman, AoT profits plunged 90 percent compared to the previous year, despite higher traffic volumes and increased passenger service charters and airline fees. Operating expenses surged 137 percent, contributing to the AoT's worst quarterly earnings report since it was listed on the

Stock Exchange of Thailand The Stock Exchange of Thailand (, ; SET) has been the sole stock exchange operator in Thailand since its establishment on 30 April 1975. As of 8 April 2025, with a market capitalization of US$380.19 billion (excluding mai) at an exchange rate ...

. The AoT board also granted 200 million baht to the Army, which had requested a financial donation. AoT also lent some of its explosives detectors to the Army for use in the South Thailand insurrection. Financial performance continued to spiral downwards in the 3rd quarter of 2007. Net profit for the period ending June fell by 84 percent from a year before, despite higher traffic and a 17.9 percent increase in revenue. The fall in profit was attributed to AoT's court case against King Power, the operator of

duty-free A duty-free shop or store is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, who will ...

shops within Suvarnabhumi Airport. King Power's concession was suspended while the case was in court, forcing AOT to stop reporting earnings from the concessionaire.

Thaksin Shinawatra

Saprang had long been a fierce 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 ...

, and prior to the coup had even called Thaksin's supporters within the military "evil." After the coup, Saprang called Thaksin a "traitor" and said that he should be "banished to live forever in the jungle." Saprang also accused Thaksin of spying on the military while he was Prime Minister. Although Saprang and General Sonthi accused Thaksin of insulting and disrespecting King

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

, he noted that the junta did not pursue lèse majesté charges against Thaksin because "the police corrupted the evidence", and delivered such a weak case that the attorney-general could not file a lawsuit. A vocal self-proclaimed royalist, he insisted that various groups actively tried to challenge the monarchy, and that he "couldn't stand it." He noted, "I am a soldier, born to protect the Crown. They could only challenge the monarchy over my dead body." Saprang also suspected that Oliver Jufer, a Swiss man who was jailed for lèse majesté for spraying paint on a portrait of the image of King

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

, was hired by somebody to perform his vandalism. Saprang ordered a military investigation into the matter. The results have not been made public.

2007 New Years bombings

Saprang had a public confrontation with former Prime Minister

Chavalit Yongchaiyudh Chavalit Yongchaiyudh (, , ; born 15 May 1932), also known as "Big Jiew" (, , ), is a Thai politician and retired army officer, he served as the prime minister of Thailand from 1996 to 1997. From 1986 to 1990, he was the Commander-in-chief of ...

regarding the 2006 Bangkok New Year's Eve bombings after Chavalit accused him of incompetence.The Nation
Chavalit and CNS still slug it out
5 January 2007 Saprang claimed that "the evidence and intelligence information proves that the bombs were the dirty work of politicians who lost power and benefits. Bad soldiers loyal to bad politicians collaborated with them with the intention to topple this government." However, his claim was contradicted just an hour later by Prime Minister

Surayud Chulanont Surayud Chulanont (, , ; born 28 August 1943) is a Thai politician. He was the prime minister of Thailand and head of Thailand's interim government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a trans ...

.Daniel Ten Kate, Asia Sentinel
Thailand’s Bombing Mystery Gets Murkier
4 January 2007 In May 2007, Saprang claimed that he had information regarding the seizure of an instructional manual on terrorism in Bangkok from a London apartment by English soldiers and police. He said he could not disclose any further information, but told the public to connect the dots themselves. Days later, a bomb exploded outside of

Chitrlada Palace Chitralada Royal Villa (; ) is a royal villa located within Dusit Palace. This villa was permanent-residence of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), the longest-serving monarch of Thailand and Queen Sirikit. He moved there after the death of his old ...

. Saprang later clarified his remark, saying the Bangkok terrorism manual discovery had been made in the early 1990s. Deputy Chief of the British Mission in Bangkok Andy Pierce said he was "concerned" by Saprang's remarks, which he insisted were "baseless".

Resignation of Pridiyathorn Devakula

Saprang was implicated in the resignation of Finance Minister

Pridiyathorn Devakula Mom Rajawongse Pridiyathorn Devakula (; ; ; born 15 July 1947) is a Thai economist. He was the Governor of the Bank of Thailand from 2001 to 2006. Following the 2006 Thai coup d'état he served as minister of finance and deputy prime minister in ...

on 28 February 2007. The ''

Bangkok Post The ''Bangkok Post'' is an English-language daily newspaper published in Bangkok, Thailand. It is published in broadsheet and digital formats. The first issue was sold on 1 August 1946. It had four pages and cost one baht, a considerable amount ...

'' reported that Pridiyathorn resigned in protest after a CNS member lobbied him to sell shares of IRPC (formerly known as Thai Petrochemical Industry) back to a former shareholder. The newspaper identified Saprang as the unnamed CNS member. Saprang's brother, Chienchuang, was a key financial advisor to

Prachai Liaophairat TPI Polene Public Company Limited is Thailand's third largest cement manufacturer. It also manufactures petrochemicals, including low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and ethylene-vinyl acetate Ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), also known as poly(ethyl ...

, the estranged founder of TPI.The Nation
Ethanol rises to Bt23 per litre
23 March 2006 Chienchuang's relations with the junta came under further public scrutiny when it was revealed that he was hired by the junta in order to lead a campaign to discredit deposed premier

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 ...

. Politicians hired as part of the CNS campaign included Chat Pattana party leader

Korn Dabbaransi Korn Dabbaransi (, , alternatively transcribed as Thapparangsi or ''Dabaransi'', ; born 14 September 1945) is a Thai politician. He was the leader of the National Development Party from 1998 to 2003. Korn served as deputy prime minister and as a ...

, Democrats

Korn Chatikavanij Korn Chatikavanij (, , born 19 February 1964 in London) is a Thai politician. He was formerly the leader of the Chart Pattana Kla Party and the Kla Party. He was a deputy leader of the Democrat Party. A five-term MP, he served from 2008 to 201 ...

, Alongkorn Palabutr and Korbsak Sabavasu, Prapat Panyachatraksa, a key Thai Rak Thai member who defected to the Chat Thai party, plus ex-senator

Kraisak Choonhavan Kraisak Choonhavan (, 8 October 1947 – 11 June 2020) was a Thai politician. He was a member of the Senate for Nakhon Ratchasima Province from 2000 till 2006. Family and education Born the son of former prime minister General Chatichai Choonh ...

. Academics hired by the CNS included Wuttipong Piebjriya-wat, Sophon Supapong, Narong Phet-prasert, and Somkiat Osotspa.

Mad dogs and machine guns

Saprang was an extremely vocal critic of those whom he perceived as his political opponents. In an interview with

Thai Rath ''Thairath'' (, lit. ''Thai State'') is a daily newspaper in Thai published in Bangkok and distributed nationwide. The paper is a broadsheet published with two sections. The first section is devoted to news. Although the news section is best kn ...

(Thailand's most popular newspaper) on 8 April 2007, he called an unspecified enemy a "mad dog" who he claimed was destroying the monarchy. He said that it was necessary to shoot the dog with a machine gun. In the same interview, he threatened a violent response to the "bold words that came from the mouths of evil people who did not know restraint". He urged decisive action so that the public would believe that good had triumphed over evil.

Post-coup role

Saprang was considered a strong contender to lead the junta given the mandatory retirement of Army commander-in-chief and CNS President

Sonthi Boonyaratkalin Sonthi Boonyaratglin (, , ; born 2 October 1946) is a Thai former general who was Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army and former head of the Council for Democratic Reform, the military junta that ruled the kingdom. He unofficially competed with fellow Assistant Army Commander

Anupong Paochinda Anupong Paochinda (; ; born 10 October 1949) is a Thai politician and retired army officer. He held the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army from 2007 until his retirement on 30 September 2010. While a lieutenant general holding ...

, who, as 1st Army Area Commander, secured Bangkok on the night of the coup. The ''Bangkok Post'' reported in October 2006 that Sonthi was grooming Anupong to be his successor by giving him responsibilities over coup logistics, a greater task than had been assigned to Saprang. The ''Asia Times'' quoted a former MP as saying "Anupong is seen as the real force behind the coup. Saprang is more vocal, but he has no real base. The only way he could be seen as a promising leader is by pushing the country to the brink." In an interview, Saprang warned that "the three pillars of society - the nation, the religion and the monarchy - might crumble...If rogue politicians return to power following the next ost coupgeneral election." Saprang also held the opinion that military coups against the government "should never be ruled out." The abrogated 1997 constitution had outlawed coups. A replacement constitution was, at the time of Saprang's statement, being drafted by a military-appointed panel. Saprang was sidelined in security plans preceding the Constitutional Tribunal's 20 May 2007 ruling on the dissolution of the

Thai Rak Thai The Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT; , , ; "Thais Love Thais Party") was a list of political parties in Thailand, Thai political party founded in 1998. From 2001 to 2006, it was the ruling party under its founder, Prime Minister of Thailand, Prime Mini ...

and Democrat Parties. After the 2006 coup, Sonthi delegated the task of securing Bangkok to Saprang. The pre-ruling plan put Sonthi directly in charge of Bangkok crowd security, allying him with alums of AFPS Class 9, including Army Chief of Staff General Montri Sangkhasap and First Army Region commander Lt General

Prayuth Chan-ocha Prayut Chan-o-cha (sometimes spelled Prayuth Chan-ocha; , ; born 21 March 1954) is a former Thai politician, army officer and dictator who became the 29th prime minister of Thailand after seizing power in the 2014 coup d'état and served unt ...

. Panitan Wattanayagorn, a military scholar at

Chulalongkorn University Chulalongkorn University (CU; ; , ) is a public university, public Autonomous university, autonomous research university in Bangkok, Thailand. The university was originally founded during King Chulalongkorn's reign as a school for training ro ...

and a personal adviser to Prime Minister

Surayud Chulanont Surayud Chulanont (, , ; born 28 August 1943) is a Thai politician. He was the prime minister of Thailand and head of Thailand's interim government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a trans ...

noted in early September 2007 that "if the army is going to take a full step into politics, then it will be Saprang. If only a half-step, then Anupong. And if it intends to beat a full retreat or take one step back, it will be rmy chief of staffMontri angkhasap " On 19 September 2007, Saprang's rival, Assistant Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Anupong Paochinda, was appointed as the new commander-in-chief of the Army, replacing the retiring General Sonthi. Anupong's mandatory retirement occurred in 2010. Sonthi was, after resignation, appointed Deputy Prime Minister. Saprang was transferred to become Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defense. Saprang's ally, Defence Ministry Deputy Permanent Secretary Admiral Bannawit Kengrien, called Saprang's transfer a "demotion" and a "punishment." However, Saprang himself claimed that he did not feel slighted for being passed over, noting that "everything is over" for him. Bannawit himself was later transferred from Defence Ministry Deputy Permanent Secretary to be a Chief Adviser of the Ministry, replaced by Chief Advisor General Toosarat Muang-am. Bannawit denied that his own transfer was the result of his criticism of Saprang's transfer. Bannawit then announced that he would resign from the military and enter politics. There was also rampant speculation that Saprang himself would resign and enter politics. Although the Kyodo News Agency noted speculation that Saprang would stage a coup against Anupong, Saprang denied coup rumours, saying that another coup would be "suicide."

Personal life

Saprang was the youngest of nine children of Lieutenant Colonel

Sri Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Assamese, Meitei ( Manipuri), Marathi, Malay (including In ...

() and Phenkaew Kalayanamitr (). Sri was the eldest of the 8 children of Phraya Sucharitraksa, ruler (''Chao Muang'') of the northern border city of Tak. The Kalayanamitrs are a military aristocratic family with Chinese (

Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...

)-Northern Thai roots. Saprang's ancestor, Luang Phichai Waree (original name Ung Mang, ) migrated to

Siam Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

during the reign of King

Taksin King Taksin the Great (, , ) or the King of Thonburi (, ; ; Teochew: Dên Chao; 17 April 1734 – 7 April 1782) was the only king of the Thonburi Kingdom that ruled Thailand from 1767 to 1782. He had been an aristocrat in the Ayutthaya Kingdom ...

plying the samphao trade, and was given a feudal title during the reign of King

Rama I Phutthayotfa Chulalok (born Thongduang; 20 March 1737 – 7 September 1809), also known by his regnal name Rama I, was the founder of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (now Thailand) and the first King of Siam from the reigning Chakri dynasty. He asc ...

. Saprang had evoked his aristocratic background in order to increase his credibility in public confrontations. Saprang was married to Viphada () and had 3 sons: Army Cadet Ekawee (), Air Force Cadet Akharawat (), Air Force Cadet Ekwarit ().Nation Blog
เบื้องลึก ตระกูลกัลยาณมิตร ของ พล.อ.สพรั่ง
1 February 2007 Saprang Kalayanamitr died from lung cancer on 21 November 2023, at the age of 75.สิ้น พล.อ.สพรั่ง กัลยาณมิตร อดีตบิ๊ก คมช. รัฐประหาร 49 เสียชีวิตแล้วด้วยวัย 75 ปี

Education and early career

Education

Early career

2006 Coup

After the 2006 coup

CNS Special Operations Center

TOT and CAT Telecom

Airports of Thailand

Purging of AoT management

Suvarnabhumi Airport

Trip to Europe

Financial performance

Thaksin Shinawatra

2007 New Years bombings

Resignation of Pridiyathorn Devakula

Mad dogs and machine guns

Post-coup role

Personal life

See also

References

Further reading