A former general, he was a leader of the "Young Turks" military clique, founded and led the Palang Dharma Party, served for six years as governor of Bangkok, led the anti-military uprising of May 1992, and is a prominent member of the People's Alliance for Democracy, a group strongly opposed to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Following his father's death, Chamlong's family moved into the home of a retired naval officer, where his mother was a servant.

He developed a close relationship with his classmates Pallop Pinmanee and Manoonkrit Roopkachorn, both of whom would play important roles in Thai politics for decades.

He returned to Thailand to attend the Army Command and General Staff College, and also underwent six months of counterinsurgency training.

Also during the 1970s, conflicts between the pro-democracy and students movement on the one hand, and rightist paramilitaries on the other, Chamlong admittedly attended rallies of the right-wing "Village Scouts".

[3] The Young Turks supported the military coup against the elected government of Seni Pramoj, following the bloody 6 October 1976 incident.

The role the Young Turks played in the brutal massacre of student demonstrators gathered at Thammasat University, if any, is still debated.

The late-1970s and the ascension of Young Turk mentor General Prem Tinsulanonda to the premiership in 1980 marked the apex of Class 7's influence in Thai politics.

The coup collapsed after the royal family, accompanied by Prem to Nakhon Ratchasima Province, announced their support for troops loyal to the government.

A rift between Chamlong and Prem later erupted when the lower house of parliament passed a law legalizing abortions in cases of rape and in situations when a pregnant woman's life was in danger.

Chamlong was strongly opposed to what he viewed as "free abortions", and he resigned as Prem's secretary and successfully lobbied the senate to veto the law.

In the early-1980s, he spent his free time touring the countryside, giving talks about Phothirak's brand of ascetic Buddhism, and urging people to abstain from alcohol, cigarettes, meat, and gambling.

Chamlong ran for governor as an independent, supported by an organization calling itself Ruam Phalang (United Force), made up mostly of volunteers from Santi Asoke.

Chamlong encouraged road-side hawkers, technically illegal, to stop selling their wares once a week, on Wednesdays.

His anti-poverty projects included paving footpaths in squatter communities and establishing a chain of thrift stores for the poor.

In 1988, Chamlong established the Palang Dharma (Moral Force) Party (PDP) to contest nationwide parliamentary elections.

As a result of the 1988 elections, Chamlong's former patron, Prem Tinsulanonda, was replaced as prime minister by Chatichai Choonhavan, leader of the Chart Thai Party.

It was widely speculated that Secretary-General Udomsilp wanted to join Chatichai's government coalition, where he had been promised the Ministry of Public Health.

Chatichai's government reopened investigations into Santi Asoke, which led to a decision by the Supreme Council of the Sangha to defrock Phothirak.

It consists of some 500 incomplete concrete pillars which are part of the unfinished Hopewell mass transit project, and is considered an unofficial monument to massive corruption.

The coup-makers, who called themselves the National Peace-Keeping Council (NPKC), appointed Anand Panyarachun as prime minister.

On 9 May, Suchinda responded by saying that he would support a constitutional amendment making individuals who had not been elected to parliament ineligible for the premiership.

On 17 May, the two leading government parties announced that, while they supported the constitutional amendment, they also favored transitional clauses that would permit Suchinda to serve as prime minister for the life of the current parliament.

After troops had secured the area around Phan Fa Bridge and the Democracy Monument, protests shifted to Ramkhamhaeng University across the city.

In early 1996, Chamlong decided to return to politics to contest the Bangkok governor elections, facing incumbent Krisda Arunwongse na Ayudhya (who had defected from the PDP).

Along with thousands of Santi Asoke supporters, he camped in front of the Stock Exchange of Thailand for several nights on the eve of Visakha Bucha, citing "a grave threat to the health, social harmony and time-honored ethics of Thai culture" if the IPO was approved.

[12] For the fifth day, 30,000 protesters, led by the People's Alliance for Democracy, occupied Sundaravej's Government House compound in central Bangkok, forcing him and his advisers to work out of a military command post.

Police issued arrest warrants for Sondhi Limthongkul and eight other protest leaders on charges of insurrection, conspiracy, unlawful assembly and refusing orders to disperse.

[17] On 4 and 5 October 2008, Srimuang and rally organiser, Chaiwat Sinsuwongse of the People's Alliance for Democracy, were detained by the Thai police led by Col. Sarathon Pradit, by virtue of a 27 August arrest warrant for insurrection, conspiracy, illegal assembly and refusing orders to disperse (treason) against him and eight other protest leaders.

[20] A key supporter of Thailand's version of the "vote-no" movement during run-up to the general election of 2011, Chamlong did not get the chance to vote no.