1972 Temporary Charter
Amid rising social and political conflict, in 17 November 1971 Thanom Kittikachorn and his deputy Praphas Charusathien overthrew their own government, dissolving Parliament and the Cabinet, declaring martial law, abrogating the Constitution, and running the Kingdom through a National Executive Council. Thanom made himself Premier, Supreme Commander, Defense and Foreign Minister. Praphas made himself deputy Premier, Interior Minister, Chief of Police, Army Commander, and head of the Communist Suppression Operations Command. Declaring the coup on television, Thanom opened a letter of approval from the King presented on a gold tray. Along with Narong Kittikachorn (Thanom's son and Praphas's son-in-law), the regime was called that of the "Three Tyrants."
Massive protests and strikes resulted, coinciding with a recession and high inflation. A disastrous offensive against the Communist Party of Thailand (CPT) was launched. As tensions reached a boiling point in December 1972, Thanom drafted a new charter. Similar in many ways to Sarit's 1959 charter, it reinforced the power of the military dictatorship. Political parties were banned, and a wholly appointed unicameral 299-member National Legislative Assembly, 200 of which were military and police, was established. The executive retained strong control over the legislature.
Read more about this topic: Constitution Of Thailand
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