born July 28, 1938, Muang district, Trang province, Thai.
Prime minister of Thailand (199295, 19972001).
Son of a schoolteacher, he became a lawyer and was first elected a member of Parliament in 1969. He served in various capacities in the government and was first made prime minister in 1992 after his predecessor resigned in the wake of street violence brought on by Thailand's worsening economic crisis. He lost elections in 1995 largely because his government was seen as plodding and slow, but he was returned to power in 1997; he stepped down in 2001 after his party had lost in national parliamentary elections. He was Thailand's first prime minister to come to power without either aristocratic or military backing.