Puey Ungphakorn

Puey was born the fourth child of an immigrant Chinese fishmonger and a second generation Thai Chinese mother, with ancestry from Raoping. ==Government service==

Ministry of Finance In 1949, Puey became an economist in the Ministry of Finance. In 1953, he was appointed managing director of the National Economic Council. Bank of Thailand Also in 1953, Puey was appointed Deputy Governor of the Bank of Thailand. Upon becoming governor in 1959, Puey quickly attracted the attention of international agencies, foreign governments, and the international financial community for the integrity of his financial planning and management. His international stature was recognised ceremoniously in 1964 when he became the first Thai to receive the Magsaysay Award for public service. Equally important, this international recognition gave him an influence with Field Marshals Sarit Thanarat, Thanom Kittikachorn, and their cohorts which far exceeded his bureaucratic position. They sought his aid and advice as a troubleshooter for Thailand's monetary interests, particularly in matters they had botched or in which they were suspected to have their own private interests, such as remedying Sarit's mishandling of Thailand's participation on an international tin council and preventing a kickback scandal over the foreign printing of Thailand's currency. Other positions After stepping down as central bank governor, Puey was appointed to the un-elected National Legislative Assembly established under the interim constitution of December 1972 in the aftermath of Thanom's 1971 auto-coup. After Thanom's junta was ousted in a popular uprising in 1973, Puey was chosen by caretaker prime minister Sanya Dharmasakti, who had also served as Rector of Thammasat University, to chair the government's Economic Advisory Council. He served in both posts until Sanya's ministry was succeeded by the elected government of Seni Pramoj following elections in 1975. ==Academic career==

In 1966, Puey became the dean of the Faculty of Economics at his alma mater, Thammasat University, where his work with the Rockefeller Foundation and with foreign scholars dramatically upgraded the training of Thailand's future technocrats. He also instituted a long-term research project on raising the productivity and economic level of Thai villagers. It was during this period that he was invited to serve as a visiting professor at both Cambridge and Princeton universities and was appointed to the governing boards of such organisations as the International Council for Educational Development, the East-West Center (EWC), the Asian Institute of Management, and the International Food Policy Research Institute. Puey played an instrumental role in the establishment of the Bangkok-based Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), previously the Graduate School of Engineering of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) in 1967. Dr Puey became the first chairperson of the AIT Board of Trustees from 1968 to 1973. After the ousting of Thanom's regime in October 1973, Puey was catapulted into political prominence and, along with M.R. Kukrit Pramoj, was broadly promoted as one of the two major candidates for the post of prime minister in the elected government that would follow the palace-picked interim administration of Sanya Thammasak. However, after a great deal of self-examination, Puey disavowed all interest in such a candidacy and returned to Thammasat, where he was appointed rector. Puey's explanation was that when he had joined the Free Thai Movement he had taken an oath never to seek or accept political appointment until after reaching the age of retirement. Some have argued, however, that Puey's withdrawal was based upon his mature understanding of the nature of society and that he had accurately foreseen that the upcoming democratic period would be inherently unstable, dangerous, and short-lived. ==Exile==

in the 6 October 1976 Massacre Memorial, Thammasat University, Bangkok Despite his service, honesty and international reputation, Puey was branded a communist and "destroyer of unity" by the political right of Thailand. Although he spoke out against the unending student demonstrations of 1975–76 as being both ineffective and self-destructive, and even denied his students any use of the Thammasat campus as a base for mounting public demonstrations, he was nevertheless assigned blame for their occurrence. On the evening of the bloody 6 October 1976 Massacre, Puey resigned from his position as rector of Thammasat in protest against the bloodbath that had occurred that day on the university campus. Realising he was a marked man, Puey went to Don Mueang airport where he was met by a lynch mob. Only with the help of the Royal Thai Air Force Air Police, who had been instructed by King Bhumibol's privy council office to help him leave, did he evade death and get on a plane bound for London. While living abroad, Puey met with Thais and influential figures in several countries, including those in the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Japan, and Australia to speak about the incident and to call for a peaceful transition to democracy in Thailand. In 1977, Puey gave testimonials before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs investigating human rights in Thailand following the incident of 6 October 1976 Massacre. In September 1977, Puey suffered a haemorrhagic stroke and was confined to a hospital for three months. The illness left Puey with a speech impediment resulting in mumbling speech. He could walk by himself, but was unable to control his right hand. Puey died in London on 28 July 1999. ==Legacy==

In 2015, he was recognised by UNESCO for his high ethical standards. ==Honours==

Military rank • Major of the British Army ==See also==