Seng Saekhu
Seng Sae Khu was a great-great-grandfather of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Seng Sae Khu (also known as Khu Chun Seng; Chinese: 丘春盛) was a Hakka Chinese immigrant from Fengshun, Meizhou, Guangdong. He arrived in Thailand (then named Siam) in the 1860s. In 1908, he settled in Chiang Mai. He married a Thai woman named Sangdi (most Thais did not have family names before 1918). His eldest son, Chiang Sae Khu, was born in Chanthaburi in 1890, and also married a Thai, Saeng Somna. Chiang's eldest son, Sak, adopted the Thai surname Shinawatra ("does good routinely") in 1938 during the Phibun regime's anti-Chinese campaigns. The rest of the family soon adopted it, including Loet, Thaksin's father, who was born in Chiang Mai in 1919. Loet married Yindi Ramingwong, who is also of Hakka Chinese descent.[1][2]
Seng Sae Khu made his fortune through tax farming. The Khu/Shinawatra later founded Shinawatra Silks and moved into finance, construction and property development.
References
- ^ Thai PM concludes China tour
- ^ Template:Zh icon [泰国总理他信：我是华裔客家人 Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized language tag: zh-s (help)]
Further reading
- Chris Baker, Pasuk Phongpaichit. Thaksin: The Business Of Politics In Thailand. Silkworm Books. ISBN 978-9749575550.