Sophon Suphapong ( th, โสภณ สุภาพงษ์) (born, 12 September 1946) is a former Senator for

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populatio ...

in the

National Assembly of Thailand The National Assembly of Thailand ( Abrv: NAT; th, รัฐสภา, , ) is the bicameral legislative branch of the government of Thailand. It convenes in the Sappaya-Sapasathan, Dusit District, Bangkok. The National Assembly was establish ...

and the former President of

Bangchak Petroleum Bangchak Corporation Public Company Limited (BCP), previously known as Bangchak Petroleum, is a petroleum and energy conglomerate in Thailand. It was founded as a state-owned company in 1984, and is now listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, ...

. Sophon served as the first president of state-owned Bangchak Petroleum company, which was established in 1984 to operate the Bangchak Refinery. In the 1990s, under his leadership, the company made several initiatives focused on community responsibility as well as environmental awareness, which helped him win the

Ramon Magsaysay Award The Ramon Magsaysay Award ( Filipino: ''Gawad Ramon Magsaysay'') is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in governance, courageous service to the people, and pragmatic idea ...

in 1998. In 2005, Sophon accused the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

of being the mastermind behind bombings in the

South Thailand insurgency The South Thailand insurgency ( th, ความไม่สงบในชายแดนภาคใต้ของประเทศไทย; ms, Pemberontakan di Thailand Selatan) is an ongoing conflict centered in southern Thailand. It ...

. As a Senator, Sophon accused Prime Minister

Thaksin Shinawatra Thaksin Shinawatra ( th, ทักษิณ ชินวัตร; ; ; Chinese: 丘達新; cnr, Taksin Šinavatra; born 26 July 1949), is a Thai businessman, politician and visiting professor. He served in the Thai Police from 1973 to 1987, ...

of taking part in the

Finland Plan Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothn ...

and using gains from the privatization of state energy company PTT in a plan to overthrow the Chakri dynasty and establish a

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...

dictatorship A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship a ...

. It was revealed in April 2007 that Sophon was paid by the

military junta A military junta () is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the national and local junta organized by the Spanish resistance to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in ...

to criticize deposed Premier

following the

2006 Thailand coup 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second ...

. However, Sophon continued to deny that he received any payment.The Nation
Saprang's cousin given PR work 'because of experience'
, 11 April 2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suphapong, Sophon

Sophon Suphapong Sophon Suphapong ( th, โสภณ สุภาพงษ์) (born, 12 September 1946) is a former Senator for Bangkok in the National Assembly of Thailand and the former President of Bangchak Petroleum. Sophon served as the first president of ...

Living people Ramon Magsaysay Award winners 1946 births