On February 23, 1991 the Thai military overthrew the elected government of Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan in a bloodless coup, forming a junta called the National Peace-Keeping Council. The generals, citing corruption in Chatichai's government and resentment at his interference with military appointments, moved as the prime minister was about to fly to an audience with the king. Chatichai and a companion were arrested at a Chiang Mai air base before their plane could take off, while troops seized the Government House and broadcast stations in Bangkok.
The NPKC, fronted by Supreme Commander Sunthorn Kongsompong and driven by army chief Suchinda Kraprayoon, suspended the constitution, dissolved parliament, and installed the respected diplomat Anand Panyarachun as interim prime minister. Chatichai was not physically harmed.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan, overthrown on February 23, 1991 by the NPKC junta and briefly arrested; he was not physically harmed.
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Chatichai Choonhavan (prime minister overthrown)
Sunthorn Kongsompong (junta figurehead)
Suchinda Kraprayoon (army chief who drove the coup)
Sources
The 1991 Thai coup was a military coup against the democratic Chatichai government carried out by Thai military leaders on 23 February, and Chatichai Choonhavan and Arthit Kamlang-ek were arrested by Royal Thai Air Force men at an air force base in Chiang Mai before taking off to Bangkok, while armed soldiers took over the Government House and captured radio and television stations.
The Royal Thai Armed Forces formed the National Peace Keeping Council led by Sunthorn Kongsompong, aided by army chief Suchinda Kraprayoon, navy chief Praphat Kritsanachan, air force chief Kaset Rojananil, and deputy army commander Isarapong Noonpakdee, and Sunthorn declared the coup a success as he became caretaker prime minister.
On February 23, 1991 Army Commander Suchinda Kraprayoon overthrew the government of Chatichai Choonhavan, the coup-makers who called themselves the National Peace-Keeping Council appointed Anand Panyarachun as Prime Minister, and Anand's interim government promulgated a new constitution and scheduled parliamentary elections for March 22, 1992.
SOURCE REVIEWEDGlobalSecurity, February 1991 Coupopen source ↗
Three days later on 26 February King Bhumibol Adulyadej approved the coup, and later in May 1992 protesters calling for democracy were massacred by the military regime in the events known as Black May, after Suchinda took the premiership himself.
Fate coding: the deposed prime minister Chatichai Choonhavan was briefly arrested at the Chiang Mai air base and not physically harmed, matching the dataset. Coding note: the dataset labels this a military coup, accurately, a bloodless takeover by the armed forces high command forming the National Peace-Keeping Council. Nature recorded: the junta was fronted by Supreme Commander Sunthorn Kongsompong but driven by army chief Suchinda Kraprayoon; the coup was staged as the prime minister was about to fly to an audience with the king. Trigger recorded: the generals cited corruption in Chatichai's so-called buffet cabinet and were angered by his interference with senior military appointments; these are recorded as the documented rationale and grievances. Context recorded neutrally: the king approved the coup on February 26, the junta installed the respected diplomat Anand Panyarachun as interim prime minister, and the sequence led to Suchinda taking the premiership in 1992 and the deadly Black May crackdown, later context. Neutrality maintained on a contested subject.
Cross-Reference
Datasets agree. At least two of the three reference datasets we check against carry this event, and none of them disagrees about its date or its result.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan, overthrown on February 23, 1991 by the NPKC junta and briefly arrested; he was not physically harmed..
Baseline coding: Incumbent executive removed from power. Recorded leader fate: deposed; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.
Baseline Source-Document Entries
CSP
Named in the baseline source document; no article citation was recorded.
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunthorn_Kong Som Pong
New York Times
“New Thai Prime Minister,” August 5, 1988
“Thai Military Overthrows Government,” February 24, 1991
“Thai Officers Say they’ll Try to Set Vote Within 6 Months,” by Steven Erlanger, February 25, 1991
“Thai Army Pledges Government Too Soon,” by Steven Erlanger, February 26, 1991
“The World; In Thailand’s Coup, A Familiar Regional Variation on Democracy,” March 3, 1991
“Military and Interim officials Steer Thailand,” by Steven Erlanger, March 8, 1991
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →