Tuan Leekpai

Leekpai was born in Ban Tha Chin village,^[1] Bang Rak Subdistrict, Mueang Trang District, Trang Province in 1915 according to the population registration data.^[2] According to the Chinese textbook of 1912,^[3] her original name was Kim Tuan Ju Hong,^[2] the fifth child of seven children of Chung and Sun Kee Ju Hong.^[4] Her father and mother were of Hokkien Chinese descent and used the surname "Ju Hong",^[2] which is one of the 35 old Hokkien surnames in Trang Province.^[5] Her original name was "Kim Tuan", but later it was reduced to "Tuan" as called by southern people.^[1] She has four half-sisters.

Leekpai is the grandson of Luang Phadung Chan Kasem (Panti), who was the village headman of Bang Rak subdistrict and is the nephew of Jang Jingjit [th],^[4] the first member of the House of Representatives of Trang Province. When Jang ran for election, Tuan was still a child and helped campaign for him because he was interested in politics, until he was finally elected.^[6]

When she was a child, she wanted to be a nurse, but her wish was not fulfilled because she did not study. She had little formal schooling and was illiterate.^[2][1] As the eldest child, she took care of her mother who was paralyzed and allowed her younger siblings to study.^[1] She also helped her father earn a living by making traditional roof tiles, planting rubber trees, and selling various things until she was able to establish herself at the age of 15.^[1]

Tuan married a primary school teacher at Wat Khuan Wiset School,^[2] namely Khru Heut or Niyom Leekpai. In Hokkien, his name is Tan Huat, surname Li (Chinese name: Li Chen Fa). She had 9 children with her husband, 6 boys and 3 girls, with Chuan being the third. But even after marriage, Tuan was not only a housewife, but also continued to work as a merchant as usual.^[6] They were able to send all nine of their children to school,^[2] six boys and three girls. She received the National Outstanding Mother Award in 1993.^[7]