Wan Waithayakon - Wikiwand

Prince Varna Vaidayakara (full title: His Royal Highness Prince Varna Vaidayakara, the Prince Naradhip Bongsaprabandha), 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]

Quick Facts Wan Waithayakon วรรณไวทยากร, Born ...

Wan Waithayakon วรรณไวทยากร
Prince Naradhip Bongsaprabandha
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
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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

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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

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Perspective

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.

He was sent to Europe again in 1926 as the 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; represented Thailand at the Greater East Asia Conference; participated 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]

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Language

Prince Wan's expertise in languages ranged from English and Pali to Sanskrit. He coined Thai words from English that 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]