Thawisan Ladawan

Thawisan Ladawan (Thai: ทวีสันต์ ลดาวัลย์; 26 January 1924 – 7 April 2006) was husband of Busba Kitiyakara (younger sister of Queen Sirikit), a member of King Bhumibol Adulyadej's Privy Council, and for 26 years, Principal Private Secretary to King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Mom Luang Thawisan Ladawan
ทวีสันต์ ลดาวัลย์
His Majesty's Principal Private Secretary
In office 18 September 1969 – 1 October 1994
Monarch	Bhumibol Adulyadej
Preceded by	Nikorntewan Devakula
Succeeded by	Peerapong Kasemsri
Personal details
Born	Thawisan Ladawan (1924-01-26)January 26, 1924 Bangkok, Thailand
Died	7 April 2006(2006-04-07) (aged 82) Bangkok, Thailand
Spouse	Busba Kitiyakara
Children	Suthawan Sathirathai
Parent(s)	Bung Ladawan Nueang Bunnag
Occupation	Diplomat

Education

Thawisan attended Vajiravudh College and graduated from the inaugural class of Faculty of Law, Thammasat University in 1938.

Careers

After graduated, he worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He worked in several capitals, including Paris and Brussels, and earned a Diplome d'Etudes Superieures de Droit International Public from Paris University in 1954. He became Deputy Director-General of the Protocol Department before departing in 1968 to serve as Deputy Principal Private Secretary to King Bhumibol. A year later he became King Bhumibol's Principal Private Secretary, and was later appointed to the Privy Council.

Family

Thawisan was the son of Phra Phum Phichai (Mom Ratchawong Bung Ladawan) and Nueang Bunnag. His father was the ruler of Chaiyaphum Province, Lamphun Province, Mae Hong Son Province, and Kamphaeng Phet Province.

Thawisan married Busba Kitiyakara in 1958. They had a daughter, Suthawan Ladawan Sathirathai on 24 September 1958. He divorced her soon afterwards and never remarried. Suthawan married Surakiart Sathirathai.

Died

He died at the age of 82 due to chronic liver disease.

Honours

Thai honours

• Knight Grand Cross (First Class) of the Most Illustrious Order of Chula Chom Klao (1984)
• Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant (1978)
• Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand (1975)
• Chakrabarti Mala Medal (1974)
• Royal Cypher Medal of King Rama IX, 2nd Class (1971)
• Court Medal of King Rama IX (1960)

Foreign honour

• West Germany: Grand Cross First Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1984)

References

• The Nation, Thawisan dies at 83, 10 April 2006
• Handley, Paul M. (2006). The King Never Smiles. Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-10682-3.