Pridi Banomyong

Pridi Banomyong (1900–1983), also known by his noble title Luang Praditmanutham, was a Thai statesman, jurist, and educator recognized as the founding father of Thai democracy. Earning a doctorate in law at the University of Paris, he co-founded the People's Party (Khana Ratsadon) in Paris with young Thai intellectuals, launching the Siamese Revolution of June 24, 1932, that bloodlessly abolished absolute monarchy and introduced constitutional democracy.

Pridi drafted Siam's first constitution and in 1934 founded Thammasat University as an open institution of moral and political science for ordinary citizens. During World War II, serving as Regent of Thailand, he secretly founded and directed the Seri Thai (Free Thai Movement) underground resistance against Japanese occupation in alliance with the American OSS. Serving briefly as Prime Minister in 1946, he was ousted by a military coup in 1947, living out the rest of his life in dignified exile in China and France.