Sondhi Limthongkul

Sondhi Limthongkul (สนธิ ลิ้มทองกุล; RTGS: Sonthi Limthongkun;, born 7 November 1947) is a Thai media mogul, conspiracy theorist, pro-Beijing anti-democracy reactionary activist, demagogue, and leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD).

He was elected leader of the New Politics Party (NPP).

Starting his career as a journalist, he later founded Manager Daily newspaper as well as satellite broadcaster ASTV.

Originally a strong supporter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, he later became a leader of the anti-Thaksin movement.

Sondhi founded Manager Daily in 1982 after several ventures in publishing.

The newspaper became his personal mouthpiece, and he used the profits to build a publishing, broadcasting, and telecommunications empire.

During Bloody May in 1992, Sondhi and his media played a significant role in opposing the then military government's crackdown on protesters, issuing a free special tabloid on the events when the government threatened to shut down his newspaper.

By 1996, he had over US$600 million in assets.

He was found guilty of violating the Securities and Exchange Act by falsifying documents in 1997 to secure a loan from Krung Thai Bank amounting to 1.08 billion baht.

His business faced a meltdown following the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, forcing him into bankruptcy and sparking investigations into irregular inter-company transactions.

Immediately after the crisis, Sondhi furiously attacked the Democrat-led government over its management of the economic recovery.

With the election of Thaksin Shinawatra as Prime Minister in 2001, several of Sondhi's associates became leaders in the new government.

His banker, Viroj Nualkhair, became president of state-owned Krung Thai Bank and gave more than a billion baht in "debt forgiveness" to Sondhi, allowing him to emerge from bankruptcy.

Sondhi became a vocal supporter of Thaksin, calling him "the best prime minister our country has ever had."

Under his leadership, the PAD was the major player in the 2005–2006 Thai political crisis that led to the 2006 military coup that toppled the Thaksin government.

In 2005, Viroj Nualkhair was dismissed from the KTB after incurring over 40 billion baht in problem loans.

Sondhi then began criticizing Thaksin using the media under his control, including satellite broadcaster ASTV.

He founded the People's Alliance for Democracy, aimed at overthrowing the Thaksin government.

The PAD cancelled their activities after a military coup overthrew Thaksin.

However, when Thaksin-affiliated parties won a post-coup election, and vowed to revise the new constitution, which they claimed was 'undemocratic', the PAD reformed and renewed its protests.

Army commander and co-leader of the 2006 coup, General Anupong Paochinda, pressured several PPP MPs to switch to the Democrat Party, allowing Abhisit to form a government and become Prime Minister.

PAD leader Khamnoon Sitthisamarn called Abhisit's premiership a "genuine PAD victory" and a "Anupong-style coup."

Citing the claimed failure of popular democracy in Thailand, Sondhi has suggested constitutional amendments that some members of parliament should be chosen by profession, a proposal that was seen as 'undemocratic' by his opponents.

Closely affiliated with Queen Sirikit and prominent royalists, Sondhi regularly invoked king Bhumibol Adulyadej in his protests, and has claimed that his enemies are disloyal to the monarchy, aiming at destroying the country's political form.

When Thaksin-affiliated parties won the 2007 general election, Sondhi became the major player in the 2008–2009 Thai political crisis, leading the PAD in violent clashes with security forces and anti-PAD protestors as well as the seizure of Government House, Don Muang Airport, and Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Sondhi is more or less a supporter of the Democrat Party and stopped the PAD's protests after Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva was appointed Prime Minister.

In 2008, Sondhi and PAD demonstrators occupied Government House and barricaded themselves inside for months.

They later seized Don Muang Airport and Suvarnabhumi Airport and closed them for several days, stranding thousands of travelers.

At the height of the protests, the PAD declared the only person they would accept as Premier was Abhisit Vejjajiva, leader of the opposition Democrat Party.

The protests ended when the Constitutional Court banned the People's Power Party for corruption.

In April 2009, Abhisit faced massive anti-government protests led by the pro-Thaksin red shirts which caused the Fourth East Asia Summit to be canceled and was followed by riots in Bangkok.

Days after the Bangkok unrest was quelled by military force, gunmen ambushed Sondhi's car, a black Toyota Vellfire, at a petrol station.

They shot out the tires, and fired over 100 M-16 and AK-47 assault rifle rounds at the car.

The attackers escaped from the scene when Sondhi's followers in another car opened fire on them.

Sondhi suffered a serious head wound but remained conscious, standing and lucid before being sent to a hospital for emergency surgery.

Sondhi survived the surgery, which involved removing several bullet fragments embedded about half a centimetre deep in his skull.

It is not certain who was behind the shooting, though Sondhi's son and PAD's spokesmen speculated that a faction of the military or police might have been behind it.

On 6 September 2016, the Supreme Court of Thailand ruled that he must serve the 20 years in prison sentence ruled by the Appeals Court in 2012, when he was freed on bail.

The sentence, according to the Supreme Court, will not be suspended.

He was released from jail early on 4 September 2019 on royal pardon.