Pridi Banomyong
Prof. Dr. Pridi Banomyong (May 11, 1900 - May 2, 1983), is the revolutionist and leader who paved the way for constitutional democracy in Thailand. He was a former Prime Minister and Senior Statesman of Thailand, and named one of the world great personalities of the century by the UNESCO.Born in a wealthy family of farmers in Ayutthaya, his visionary parents sent him to study high school in Bangkok and then he received the royal scholarship to further his study the PhD in law in Paris, France. There he had a chance to develop his political ideas with the study and fervent discussion about the politics. Most important of all, Pridi and his 6 friends met together to make the plot to overthrow the moribund Thai monarchy. Several years later when they returned to Siam and worked as the various kinds of government officers, they had more opportunities to persuade the others who were either senior or junior officers to join the coup. The 1932 coup was incredibly successful and ended without bloodshed.
He was also a member of the Free Thai Movement, a resistance against Japan, during World War II.