Wan Waithayakon

Prince Vanna Vaidhayakara (full title: His Royal Highness Prince Vanna Vaidhayakara, the Prince Naradhip Bongsprabandh), known in the West as Wan Waithayakon (1891–1976), was a Thai royal prince and diplomat. He was President of the Eleventh Session of the United Nations General Assembly (1956–1957), while serving as Thailand's Permanent Representative to the United Nations.^[1] He was a grandson of King Mongkut (Rama IV).^[2]

Wan Waithayakon วรรณไวทยากร
Prince Naradhip Bongsprabandh
Waithayakon in the 1940s
Born	(1891-08-25)25 August 1891 Bangkok, Siam
Died	5 September 1976(1976-09-05) (aged 85) Bangkok, Thailand
Spouse	Princess Bibulaya Benchang Kitiyakara
Issue	2
House	Vorawan family (Chakri dynasty)
Father	Prince Voravanakara, Prince of Naradhip Prapanpongse
Mother	Tuansri Voravan Na Ayudhya
Signature
President of the United Nations General Assembly
In office 1956–1957
Preceded by	Rudecindo Ortega
Succeeded by	Leslie Munro
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 28 March 1952 – 20 October 1958
Prime Minister	Plaek Phibunsongkhram Pote Sarasin Thanom Kittikachorn
Preceded by	Warakan Bancha
Succeeded by	Thanat Khoman
Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand
In office 1 January 1958 – 20 October 1958
Prime Minister	Thanom Kittikachorn
In office 9 February 1959 – 8 December 1963
Prime Minister	Sarit Thanarat
In office 9 December 1963 – 9 December 1969
Prime Minister	Thanom Kittikachorn
Rector of Thammasat University
In office 19 December 1963 – 31 March 1971
Preceded by	Thanom Kittikachorn
Succeeded by	Sanya Dharmasakti

Early life and education

Prince Wan was born on 25 August 1891 in Bangkok. He began his education at Suan Kularb School and Rajvidyalai (King's College) before continuing his education in England where he earned a degree with honours in History from Balliol College, Oxford .^[1] Wan also attended the Ecole Libre des Sciences Politiques (better known as Sciences Po) in Paris.^[3]

Career

Prince Wan began his career as a foreign service officer in 1917. He was appointed advisor to his cousin, King Vajiravudh, in 1922. In 1924, he was promoted to the rank of under-secretary for foreign affairs, and was responsible for negotiating several important amendments to political and commercial treaties with Western powers.

 

Greater East Asia Conference, November 1943; the participants were (left to right): Prime Minister of Burma Ba Maw, Prime Minister of Manchukuo Zhang Jinghui, President of China (Nanjing) Wang Jingwei, Prime Minister of Japan Hideki Tojo, Wan Waithayakon, President of the Philippines José P. Laurel, and head of Free India Subhas Chandra Bose

He was sent to Europe again in 1926 as minister accredited to the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Belgium. During that period, he also served as head of the Thai delegation to the League of Nations, where he was active in a number of important commissions as member, vice-president, and president. Prince Wan returned to Thailand in 1930, to accept a professorial chair at the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University.

For the next 30 years, Prince Wan continued to serve his country in a number of important diplomatic missions, some of the notable milestones being negotiations with Japan in 1943 during World War II, representing Thailand at the Greater East Asia Conference, participation in the SEATO Council and the Bandung Conference, where he was elected rapporteur, and negotiations leading to Thailand's admission to the United Nations.

In 1947, Prince Wan was appointed ambassador to the United States and served concurrently as ambassador to the United Nations.^[4] In 1956, he was the president of the Eleventh Session of the United Nations' General Assembly.^[3] He also served as Thailand's foreign minister from 1952 to 1957 and again in 1958.^[5]

Language

Prince Wan's expertise in languages ranged from English and Pali to Sanskrit. He coined Thai words from English which are in use today. They include prachathipatai (democracy), ratthathammanoon (constitution), thanakarn (bank), and songkram (war). His proficiency in languages led to his being made president of the Royal Society of Thailand, the national arbiter of the Thai language.^[1] Prince Wan won many academic honours and is regarded as one of the founding fathers of philological textual criticism in Thailand.^[3]

Death

Prince Wan died on 5 September 1976, aged 85.^[1]

Honours

์Nation Honours

•   The Most Illustrious Order of the Royal House of Chakri
•   Knight Grand Cross of the Most Illustrious Order of Chula Chom Klao
•   Knight Grand Cordon of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant
•   Knight Grand Cordon of the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand
•   Safeguarding the Constitution Medal
•   Dushdi Mala Medal Civilian, Service to the Nation
•   Dushdi Mala Medal Civilian, arts and sciences
•   Medal for Service Rendered in the Interior (Indochina)
•   Border Service Medal
•   Chakrabarti Mala Medal
•   The Boy Scout Citation Medal, First Class
•   King Prajadhipok's Royal Cypher Medal, Third class
•   King Ananda Mahidol's Royal Cypher Medal, First class
•   King Bhumibol Adulyadej's Royal Cypher Medal, First class

Foreign honours

•   Nazi Germany :
  •   Grand Cross of the Order of the German Eagle (1938)
•   Spain :
  •   Grand Cross Star of the Order of Civil Merit (1953)
•   South Korea :
  •   Order of Service Merit, 1st Class
•   Burma :
  •   Grand Commander of the Order of the Union of Burma (1956)
•   Kingdom of Greece :
  •   Grand Cross of the Order of the Phoenix (1956)
•   Cuba :
  •   Order of Carlos Manuel de Cespedes (1957)
•   South Vietnam :
  •   Grand Cross of the National Order of Vietnam (1957)
•   USA :
  •   Commander of the Legion of Merit (1958)
•   Argentina :
  •   Grand Cross of the Order of the Liberator General San Martín (1962)
•   Federal Republic of Germany :
  •   Grand Cross 1st Class, Special Issue of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1963)
•   Netherlands :
  •   Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau (1967)
•   Malaysia :
  •   Honorary Grand Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (1964)^[6]: 1
•   Norway :
  •   Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (1967)
•   Austria :
  •   Grand Star of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (1967)
•   Peru :
  •   Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun of Peru
•   Japan :
  •   Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun
•   Philippines :
  •   Grand Cross of the Order of Sikatuna

Academic rank

• Professor of Chulalongkorn University^[7]

References

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wan Waithayakon.

1. Kamjan, Chananthorn (3 September 2016). "The Prince of diplomacy". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
2. "A Rotarian in the News". The Rotarian. February 1957. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
3. "Prince Wan Waithayakon (Thailand) Elected President of the 11th Session of the General Assembly". United Nations (UN). Retrieved 3 September 2016.
4. "SIAM FORMALLY JOINS 54 OTHERS IN U.N." The New York Times. 17 December 1946. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
5. List of foreign ministers of Thailand 2007-10-12 at the Wayback Machine
6. "Senarai Penuh Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan Tahun 1964" (PDF).
7. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-11-26. Retrieved 2018-08-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Rudecindo Ortega	President of the United Nations General Assembly 1956–1957	Succeeded by Leslie Munro