Plaek Phibunsongkhram served as prime minister of which country?

Plaek Phibunsongkhram served as prime minister of Thailand. He held the office twice, first from 1938 to 1944 and again from 1948 to 1957, making him one of the central political figures of modern Thai history.

Born Plaek Khittasangkha in 1897, he became known as Phibun after receiving a noble title and later adopting Phibunsongkhram as his surname. He rose through the military and was a leading member of the People’s Party, which helped overthrow Siam’s absolute monarchy in the 1932 revolution.

As prime minister, Phibun pursued an authoritarian nationalist program. His government changed the country’s English name from Siam to Thailand in 1939, promoted standardized Thai language and Western-style dress, and encouraged people to consume Thai products. These reforms formed part of the Thai Cultural Revolution.

Phibun’s legacy is contested. He is remembered both as a modernizer who shaped Thai national identity and as a military dictator who allied Thailand with Japan during World War II. He was overthrown in 1957 and died in Japan in 1964.