Seng Saekhu (; ) or Khu Chun Seng ( zh, c=丘春盛; Teochew : ;

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 ...

zh, poj=Khu Chhun-sēng; ; ) or Nguanseng Saekhu () was a Chinese tax farmer active in

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 ...

, and the patriarch of the Shinawatra clan in Thailand.

Life

Seng was an ethnic Chinese of Hakka descent born around the 1840s in Fengshun County, Chaozhou Prefecture (now Fengshun,

Meizhou Meizhou ( zh, t=梅州, Hakka Chinese: Mòichû) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Guangdong province, China. It has an area of , and a population of 3,873,239 as of the 2020 census. It comprises Meijiang District, Meixian District, Xing ...

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

) to Chao Saekhu. Seng came to

in the 1860s together with his parents and second brother. However, as Seng's mother and second brother soon fell ill shortly arriving in Siam, his parents and brother returned to China, leaving Seng in the care of a local acquaintance. Seng spent his early years in

Chanthaburi Chanthaburi (, ) is a town ('' thesaban mueang'') in the east of Thailand, on the banks of the Chanthaburi River. It is the capital of the Chanthaburi Province and the Mueang Chanthaburi District. The town covers the two ''tambons'' Talat an ...

where he met his wife, a native Thai by the name of Thongdi. Their eldest son, Chiang was born in 1890 around this time and Seng started his career as a tax farmer in this small town. When the land lease expired in 1900, Seng and his family moved to Talat Noi in Bangkok around 1900 where worked as a commercial trader. Seng and his family relocated to

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 ...

around 1908 to resume his career as a tax farmer under the patronage of Nikhon Jinkit.

Family

Seng married two wives; the first to Thongdi with whom he had 6 children, including Chiang. Thongdi died of a heart attack in 1910 due to a robbery incident, and Seng remarried another lady, Nocha with whom he had 3 children. Chiang married another Thai lady, Saeng Samana with whom they have 12 children. Chiang's second child and oldest son, Sak Shinawatra, adopted the Shinawatra surname in 1938, during

Plaek Phibunsongkhram Plaek Phibunsongkhram; 14 July 1897 – 11 June 1964) was a Thai military officer and politician who served as the third prime minister of Thailand from 1938 to 1944 and again from 1948 to 1957. He rose to power as a leading member of the Kh ...

's anti-Chinese campaigns, and the rest of the clan followed suit. Sak Shinawatra became an army general and has four sons who all served in the army for at least sometime. Sak's third son, Chaiyasit Shinawatra became the commander-in-chief of the

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 ...

. Chiang's fourth child and second son, Loet Shinawatra is the father of former

prime ministers A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but rat ...

Thaksin and

Yingluck Shinawatra Yingluck Shinawatra (, , ; born 21 June 1967) is a Thai businesswoman, politician and a member of the Pheu Thai Party who was the 28th prime minister of Thailand from 2011 to 2014. Yingluck was Thailand's first female prime minister and its yo ...

. Loet served as an MP for Chiang Mai in 1969 and 1976 for the

Thai Nation Party Thai Nation Party, or Chart Thai Party (, ) was a Conservatism, conservative political party in Thailand. It was dissolved by the Constitutional Court of Thailand on December 2, 2008, along with the People's Power Party (Thailand), People's Power P ...

. Loet married Yindi Ramingwong, who is the daughter of a Hakka Chinese immigrant and his wife, a princess of the Lanna royalty.

References

Bibliography

External links

Thai PM reviled by protesters, but a hero in his home town

Thai PM reviled by protesters, but a hero in his home town
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Saekhu, Seng Seng Saekhu Seng Saekhu People from Fengshun Seng Saekhu Seng Saekhu Businesspeople from Meizhou 1840s births Year of death missing Seng Saekhu