The People's Party, known in Thai as Khana Ratsadon (, ), was a Siamese group of military and civil officers, and later a political party, which staged a bloodless revolution against King Prajadhipok's government and transformed the country's absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy on 24 June 1932.
Background
The Promoters
In 1927, the Kingdom of Siam, the Rattanakosin Kingdom (1782–1932), was under the absolutist rule of the House of Chakri, under King Prajadhipok, Rama VII. Under his reign, the nation experienced troubles stemming from an archaic government confronted with serious economic problems and threats from abroad, the British and French Empires. The country was also experiencing a dramatic social change as the urban and middle classes of Bangkok started growing, slowly demanding more rights from their government, criticizing it as ineffective. These changes were mostly led by men, civilians and the military, who had graduated or travelled abroad. They wanted to transform Siam into a modern country like a Western democracy.
In February 1927, a group of seven Siamese students, later known as the "promoters", met at a hotel on the Rue Du Sommerard in Paris and founded what would become the People's Party. For five days, they met and proposed arguments for and against various aspects of the movement, the men were:
1. Lieutenant Prayoon Pamornmontri (), Army officer, formerly of King Vajiravudh's Royal Guards 2. Lieutenant Plaek Khittasangkha (), later Luang Phibulsonggram, Army officer, student, School of Applied Artillery, France 3. Lieutenant Thatsanai Mitphakdi (), Army officer, student, French Cavalry Academy 4. Tua Lophanukrom (), scientist studying in Switzerland 5. Luang Siriratchamaitri (), diplomat, officer at the Siamese Embassy in Paris 6. Naep Phahonyothin (), law student studying in England 7. Pridi Banomyong (), law student studying at the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris
Six principles
The revolutionaries made Pridi Panomyong their president and termed themselves the "promoters" (; ). The party determined a sixfold objective which was later called the "Six Principles" (; ), as follows:
1. To maintain the supreme power of the Thai people. 2. To maintain national security. 3. To maintain the economic welfare of the Thai people in accordance with the National Economic Project. 4. To protect the equality of the Thai people. 5. To maintain the people's rights and liberties, insofar as they are not inconsistent with any of the above-mentioned principles. 6. To provide public education for all citizens.
To achieve these goals, the party determined that they must overthrow, using force if necessary, the present government and the system of absolute monarchy and turn the Asian kingdom into a modern constitutional monarchy. Most of the members were students educated abroad, mostly in the United Kingdom and France.
When the group returned to Siam, they enlisted members from among the army and navy, the merchant class, civil servants and others. Their membership eventually reached 102, separated into four main branches. These included the civilians, led by Pridi Banomyong; the navy, led by Luang Sinthusongkhramchai; the junior army officers, led by Major Phibulsonggram; and finally the senior officers, led by Colonel Phot Phahonyothin.
Legacy
The party was eventually successful in their goal of revolution by bloodless coup. By 1933 they had turned Siam into a single party state. However the party itself was short-lived, due to infighting as the party had too many factions, conflicting interests, and political beliefs. The party eventually divided into two factions, a civilian faction led by Pridi Bhanomyong, and a military faction led by Marshal Pibulsongkram.
They would dominate Thai politics for the next two decades, producing six Prime Ministers of Thailand from their ranks. The party declined at about the time the Second World War ended.