The five signatories on the Bangkok Declaration. The five men who sat
in a seaside resort in 1967 and engaged in days of negotiations. Who
were they? We revisit their lives through the eyes of friends and family
ASEAN’s Original Five
FOUNDING FATHERS
“Mostly I observed... that he would like the
people in this region to be happy, to be safe,
and to be strong,” notes Thanat’s nephew,
Amarin Khoman.
Born in Bangkok to a prominent Sino-Thai
family, Thanat Khoman attended law school
in Paris before joining the foreign service. In
his time at the embassy in Japan, the ardent
Buddhist fought against the decision to let
Japanese forces pass through Thailand to
attack the region during World War II. He
assumed the post of foreign minister in 1959,
and at the age of 53 etched Bangkok in history
as ASEAN’s founding location.
“Dr Thanat’s vision for ASEAN was that he
would like the members of ASEAN to unite
together economically, socially, and culturally,”
adds the younger Khoman.Thanat Khoman (THAILAND)
“Another principle to which we
anchored our faith was that our
cooperation should deal with
non-military matters. Attempts
were made by some to launch
us on the path of forming a
military alliance. We resisted;
wisely and correctly we stuck to
our resolve to... remain safely
on economic ground”
Thanat KhomanAbove left The five
foreign ministers
signing the Bangkok
Declaration on
August 8, 1967below left
Representatives
attend the first ASEAN
Summit in 1976below Thanat
Khoman (centre left)
receives Thai king
Bhumibol Adulyadej
(centre right) in
Geneva in 1960Thanat, the longest surviving ASEAN
founding father, later became Deputy Prime
Minister and head of the Democrat Party. He
passed away in 2016 at the age of 101.PHOTO © DR THANAT KHOMAN: THE WIT &
WISDOM OF THE LEADING ASEAN FOUNDER,
SIAM RENAISSANCE PUBLISHING, THAILAND