Seni Pramoj; Prevented Thailand From Becoming U.S. Enemy

Seni Pramoj, 92, who forestalled making Thailand an enemy of the United States during World War II. Seni, who went on to serve three brief terms as Thailand’s prime minister, was Thailand’s ambassador to Washington in 1942 when he was asked to deliver his government’s declaration of war against the U.S. and Britain. He refused, preventing the U.S. from attacking Thailand. Seni also organized a guerrilla force known as Free Thai to fight Japanese forces occupying his country. Because of Seni’s efforts, the U.S. never fought Thailand and never treated it as a defeated enemy at war’s end. On Monday in Bangkok, Thailand, of heart disease and emphysema.