Sanan Kachornprasart

Sanan Kachornprasart (Thai: สนั่น ขจรประศาสน์, rtgs: Sanan Khachonprasat, Thai pronunciation: [sà.nàn khà.tɕɔːn.prà.sàːt]; born 7 September 1935 – 15 February 2013) was a Thai politician and military officer (Major General). He was deputy prime minister in the cabinet of Abhisit Vejjajiva, and was chief advisor of Chartthaipattana Party.

Sanan Kachornprasart was born in Phichit. He graduated from Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy and United States Army Armor School, Fort Knox. Afterwards he served as an officer in the tank force (in Thailand traditionally "Cavalry") of the Royal Thai Army until he was dismissed for supporting coup d'état on 26 March 1977, led by General Chalard Hiransiri against the Tanin Kraivixien government. Sanan, by that time a lieutenant colonel, was imprisoned in Lat Yao prison charged with treason, just like his Military Academy and Fort Knox mate Manoonkrit Roopkachorn. He was released when General Kriangsak Chomanan took power in 1979. Later he was rehabilitated and even promoted Major General.

Later, Sanan entered politics. He became a member of the Democrat Party. From 1988 until his leave in 2000, he held the position of Secretary-General of the party. He served as Minister of Agriculture from 1988 to 1990 and Deputy Prime Minister for only three months in autumn 1990 under Chatichai Choonhavan, as Minister of Industry from 1992 to 1994 and as Interior Minister from 1994 to 1995 in Chuan Leekpai's first government. When, after two years of opposition, the Democrats regained government in 1997, Premier Chuan re-apoointed Sanan Minister of Interior for a second term until 2000, coevally he was Chuan's Deputy Prime Minister from 1998 to 2000.

In 2000 Sanan came under the suspicion of corruption. The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) initiated investigations on the hint by an oppositional MP, that a 45 Million Baht loan by A.A.S. Autoservice, in fact was no loan. On August 23 the Constitutional Court ruled that Sanan had given false information about his assets and banned him from politics for 5 years in accordance with article 295 of the 1997 Constitution.

After his ban expired, Sanan left the Democrat Party. In 2004 he founded the Mahachon Party, together with Anek Laothamatas. Sanan served as the secretary of the party. Mahachon Party won 8.3% of the votes and 2 of the 500 seats in the 2005 election. In 2007 Sanan and his son Siriwat left the party for the conservative-populist Thai Nation Party, coalition partner of the People's Power Party (PPP) in the Somchai Wongsawat government. In early December 2008, the Constitutional Court dissolved all governing parties, the Nation Party was mostly refounded as the Thai Nation Development Party (Chartthaipattana Party, CTP), of which Sanan is the mainstay and chief adviser.

On 15 December 2008 the CTP joined the Democrat-led coalition government under Abhisit and Sanan was appointed Deputy Prime Minister with focus on social policies. After the 2011 election, he resigned from the cabinet, even though the CTP was also part of the new Pheu Thai Party-led coalition.

Sanan Kachornprasart died in Bangkok on February 15, 2013 at the age of 77.

Sanan was married to Chawiwan Kachornprasart and they had four children. His third son is also a CTP-politician Siriwat Kachornprasart, who is Deputy minister of commerce in Yingluck Shinawatra's cabinet. Sanan owned the biggest ostrich farm in Thailand, called "Kajorn Farm" and a vineyard in Dong Charoen District, Phichit Province, where he cultivated the wine "Chateau de Shala One".