Suchinda, son of Juang and Sompong Kraprayoon, was born on 6 August 1933, in Thonburi, Siam, and is of mixed Chinese[2][3][4] and Mon descent.

He was gradually promoted and given more responsibilities, including:[6] Suchinda was a leader of the National Peace Keeping Council (NPKC), which conducted the 1991 Thai coup d'état that ousted the elected government of Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan on 23 February 1991.

His appointment as prime minister on 7 April 1992 resulted in large protests, culminating in a general curfew and military deployment in Bangkok.

In the event known as Black May, hundreds of people are believed to have died when soldiers opened fire on unarmed students and demonstrators during the protests.

[8] Telecom Asia was awarded an unprecedented concession to build 2 million telephone lines in Bangkok after the NPKC seized power.