Chavalit Yongchaiyudh

Chavalit Yongchaiyudh (ชวลิต ยงใจยุทธ,, ; born 15 May 1932), also known as "Big Jiew" (บิ๊กจิ๋ว, , ), is a Thai politician and retired army officer.

Chavalit attended Triam Udom Suksa School and graduated from Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School Class 1, same class as Surayud Chulanont, and Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy, being appointed second lieutenant in 1953.

He served in the RTA Signal Corps and completed advanced training courses at the RTA Signal Corps School, as well as at Fort Monmouth, a US Army Signal Corps School, and with the US IX Corps in Okinawa.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Chavalit served in the communist insurgency suppression campaign in the jungles of Thailand, and prepared Thai soldiers for their operations in the Vietnam War.

In 1963 he graduated from the RTA Command and General Staff College, and one year later from the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth.

During the period after the October 1973 popular uprising, he was considered close to the Thahan Prachathippatai ("Democratic Soldiers") group, even though he did not openly identify as a member of the group.

In 1979, Chavalit was promoted to major-general and Director of Army Operations.

Intending to outwit Communist Party of Thailand (CPT) guerillas, he created the pro-government Thahan Phran ("hunter soldiers"), paramilitary units who would use guerilla tactics against the CPT.

They took over a significant share of the army's counterinsurgency missions by 1982.

However, Chavalit believed that the communists could not be defeated by purely military means, but that combating the political, economic and social causes of the insurgency was also necessary to destroy their popular support.

He helped to author cabinet orders 66/2523 (1980) and 65/2525 (1982) of Prem Tinsulanonda's government, which offered amnesty and a return to civil life to surrendering communist fighters.

The orders contributed significantly to the demise of the CPT and the end of the insurgency.

In 1982, Chavalit was promoted to lieutenant-general and assistant chief-of-staff, and one year later deputy chief-of-staff of the army.

Chavalit's rise to the army's top posts was unusual for a signal corps officer, as its leading positions were traditionally reserved for infantrymen, artillerymen, and "cavalrymen" (i.e., tankers).

He owed his exceptional career partly to his close relationship to Prime Minister Prem, being one of his core supporters in the army, but also to his military, strategic, and political acumen.

From 1984 to 1987, during the "Semi-Democratic" phase, he was an appointed member of the Senate.

From 1986 to 1990 he was the Commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army (RTA), and Supreme Commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces from 1987 to 1990.

In 1986 he was appointed commander-in-chief of the RTA, and one year later the supreme commander of the armed forces.

Under his leadership, the army began projects for rural development.

These included the Isan Khiao ("Green Isan") programme in the underdeveloped northeastern region, and the Khwam Wang Mai ("New Hope") programme in the conflict-ridden southern provinces.

These projects were based on the ideas of the former "Democratic Soldiers" and cabinet order no. 66/2523: that economic development and relief of regional disparities involved national security, and were therefore tasks for the army.

For these projects Chavalit provided large corporations with lucrative contracts, including the leading Thai agribusiness corporation Charoen Pokphand.

In 1987 he publicly proposed to have a prime minister directly elected by the people; he was accused of attempting to undermine the monarchy's role, temporarily discrediting his public image.

In 1990 he founded the New Aspiration Party which he led until 2002.

Chavalit retired from military service in 1990, at the age of 58.

Chavalit began his political activity while still serving in the military.

In 1990 he was appointed Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in the administration of Chatichai Choonhavan.

During the early 1990s, Chavalit controlled 126 military-run radio stations and two of the country's five television networks.

Chavalit agreed to make military stations available for an anti-AIDS campaign.

He also agreed to help Meechai Viravaidya spearhead a three-year blitz to halt the spread of the disease.

In 1990, he launched his own party, the New Aspiration Party.

His plan was to make it a dominant ruling party, modelled on the Golkar party of Indonesia's President Suharto.

The party was backed by the Charoen Pokphand group and its chairman Dhanin Chearavanont.

Chavalit used contacts from his time as army commander and head of the "Green Isan" programme to recruit former soldiers, civil servants, and local officials in the Northeast as members of his party.

In March 1992, Chavalit was elected a member of the House of Representatives for a constituency in Nonthaburi Province.

Being the leader of the largest non-government coalition party, he was sworn in as Leader of the Opposition.

He was Thailand's 22nd Prime Minister from 1996 to 1997.

At various times he has held the positions of Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, Minister of the Interior, Minister of Labour and Leader of the Opposition.

Chavalit is of Sino-Thai and Lao descent.

His father was an infantry captain.