Siddhi Savetsila Siddhi Savetsila ( Thai , , , born January 7 , 1919 ) is a retired Thai air force officer and politician . After finishing his military career with the rank of air chief marshal , he served as the foreign minister of Thailand from 1980 to 1990 . Since 1991 , he has been a member of the Privy Council of King Bhumibol Adulyadej . Life and career . Siddhi Savetsila was born in Bangkok . He comes from an aristocratic background . His father was a high - ranking official in the royal government . His paternal grandfather was Henry Alabaster who was the British consul in Siam during the reign of King Rama IV ( Mongkut ) and then served as an advisor to King Rama V ( Chulalongkorn ) . His mother was an offspring of the influential Bunnag family . Siddhi studied metallurgic engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT ) , graduating with an S . B . degree in 1943 . During the Second World War , he joined the Free Thai Movement " ( Seri Thai ) " which resisted against the " de facto " occupation of Thailand by Japanese forces . He collected data for the US foreign - intelligence agency OSS ( predecessor of the CIA ) and was temporarily detained by the Japanese . Two of Siddhis sisters married US intelligence operatives , one was the wife of former OSS agent Willis Bird and one of CIA officer William Lair . After the end of the war , he returned to the MIT and received his Master degree in 1947 . He then served in the Royal Thai Air Force and rose up to the rank of air chief marshal " ( phon akat ek ) " . From 1975 to 1980 he served as secretary - general of the National Security Council . In this position he assisted Prime Minister Kriangsak Chomanan at the time of the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia 1978 / 79 . In 1980 , Kriangsak appointed him minister of foreign affairs . He kept this position when Prem Tinsulanonda took over the premiership a few months later . As Thailand ' representative in the United Nations ( UN ) and ASEAN , Siddhi advocated a tough line towards Vietnam which was occupying Cambodia after 1979 . In 1983 , Siddhi was elected member of parliament and in 1985 he took over the leadership of the Social Action Party ( SAP ) following the retirement of Kukrit Pramoj . The party did well in the 1986 election and Siddhi additionally became deputy prime minister for a short time . In August 1990 the new Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan dismissed Siddhi as he sought a more pragmatic relationship with the communist - ruled countries of Southeast Asia . Siddhis SAP was in great difficulties during the late 1980s and in September 1990 , Siddhi gave up his chairmanship . One month later he completely retired from the parliament and the party , stating that he was tired of politics . In 1991 King Bhumibol appointed him to his privy council . Siddhi holds honorary doctorate degrees from the University of the Philippines , the National University of Singapore and five universities in Thailand . He was decorated with the Order of Chula Chom Klao ( first class ) , the Order of the White Elephant ( special class ) and the Order of the Crown of Thailand ( special class ) , as well as foreign decorations from 14 countries . On May 8 , 2000 , he was among the five Free Thai veterans who were awarded the Agency Seal Medallion by CIA director George Tenet .