Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram, locally known as Marshal P., contemporarily known as Phibun in the West, was a Thai military officer and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Thailand from 1938 to 1944 and 1948 to 1957.
Phibunsongkhram was a member of the Royal Siamese Army wing of Khana Ratsadon, the first political party in Thailand, and a leader of the Siamese revolution of 1932 transforming Thailand from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy. Phibun became the third Prime Minister of Thailand in 1938 as Commander of the Royal Siamese Army, established a de facto military dictatorship inspired by the Italian fascist Benito Mussolini and Irish-born American white supremacist Denis Kearney, promoted Thai nationalism and sinophobia, and allied Thailand with Imperial Japan in World War II. Phibun launched a modernization campaign known as the Thai Cultural Revolution that included a series of cultural mandates, changing the country's name from "Siam" to "Thailand", and promotion of the common Thai language.