Luang Phibun Songkhram (1897-1964) was a military officer and prime minister of Thailand. An ardent proponent of Thai nationalism, he was the dominant figure in the first decades of constitutional government.

Born in a farming village near Bangkok on July 14, 1897, Phibun Songkhram was originally named Plaek. He attended Buddhist monastery schools and entered the royal military academy in Bangkok in 1909. Completing his studies in 1914, he went into the artillery corps. In 1924 he was sent to France for advanced military studies and met there Thai students who were to be prominent in the politics of the 1930s, especially Pridi Phanomyong and Khuang Aphaiwong. Returning to Bangkok in 1927, he served in the directorate of operations and the general staff of the army, rising to the rank of major, and in 1928 was given the title by which he was known thereafter, "Luang" Phibun Songkhram, which he later took as his family...