Julian David Spindler, 19 September 1945 – 18 January 2026, RIP

The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand expresses its deepest condolences to the family, colleagues and many friends of Julian Spindler who has died after a brave battle with cancer.

“He found out about it a year ago and the doctors gave him three months,” said his friend Keith Richburg of the Washington Post. “I saw him on his birthday on September 15, and he said his next goal was to make the new year — and he did.”

‍Peter Janssen writes:

Julian Spindler, a beloved, respected member of Bangkok’s expatriate journalist community and an honorary life member of the FCCT in gratitude for his many terms on the board (usually as its treasurer), died peacefully on Sunday at 10:22am, from pancreatic cancer. He was 80. He is survived by his son Kris, and partner Khun Marasee Buranathai.

Julian, from Suffolk in England, arrived in Thailand in the early 1970s in a battered 1957 long-wheel base Land Rover that he and a friend had driven from London across Europe, Central Asia, Afghanistan and the subcontinent, ending up in Bangkok where the vehicle expired and his new life began.

In need of cash, he worked as a sub-editor on the Financial Post, a weekly supplement of the Bangkok Post newspaper for a few years, where he met his wife-to-be Kanjana, “Gap,” who became a prominent columnist/editor at the daily English-language newspaper. The couple were married for 43 years, before Gap’s death in 2016.

After his stint at the Financial Post, Julian became the editor of the monthly Business In Thailand, a pioneering English-language business publication. After a few years at BIT, he moved on to establish his own marketing and communications company, Spindler and Associates, which he successfully ran for four decades, before easing into retirement a few years ago.

Besides handling the public relations of many local and multinational companies, Julian also served as a speech writer and advisor to Boonchu Rajanasthien, a banker, economist and finance minister under Prime Minister Kukrit Pramoj (1975-6).

Thai politicians sought the advice of Julian and his wife, especially in dealing with Western governments. Julian worked with several other prominent Thai figures, including General Surayud Chulanont, who became prime minister after the 2006 military coup. Surayud, impressed by the social commentary of Kanjana in the Bangkok Post, appointed her his deputy secretary general during his brief term in office. Julian’s speech-writing skills became part of the employment package.

Julian’s decades of knowledge about Thai figures and the Thai business community made him a valuable source of information and background for visiting or newly-posted foreign correspondents for such publications as the Financial Times, The New York Times and The Washington Post, among others. He was generous with his deep knowledge and understanding of Thailand. He was also a generous host, famed for the weekend gatherings at his Bangkok homesteads, where Julian demonstrated his famed “gift for gab”, eloquence and sharp wit. His collection of single malt whisky, on display in his dining room, was legendary, and generously shared.

Saturday nights at Julian's place were always memorable — a mix of internationals and locals of all shades. The crowd was a nod to his warm, open and hospitable side, writes Marwaan Macan-Markar, Nikkei Asia regional correspondent and a former FCCT president.

I am going to miss those gatherings, which had all the elements of a cosmopolitan salon, with the main dining room filled with smoke, guests huddled around the long table, and Julian absorbing the chatter about anything from politics to pot as he made the rounds to fill up empty glasses with the house favorite —Laphroaig Quarter Cask, served the way he liked it, with a dash of soda and a cube of ice.

Julian was deeply devoted to Thailand, his adopted home, although he often railed against the corruption, inefficiencies and lack of direction of its multiple governments. In his last journalistic incarnation, he wrote many letters to the Bangkok Post opinion page, which he signed as “The Sad Optimist,” an apt description of his cheerful but realistic outlook on life’s ironies.

Documentary maker Jeanne Hallacy writes:

We became friends during our time on the FCCT board. Julian's deep grasp of the labyrinth of Thai political and social trends was shared over many a long night at the bar. It was a sort of condensed history lesson.

His views were passionate, reasoned, robust and wrapped within his love of Thailand and its people. His analysis of current affairs in Burma and Thailand was always framed by a broader view of Southeast Asia and China for context.

I had the pleasure of joining him as part of an informal Burma roundtable that for many years, convened at  Ajarn Kraisak Choonhavan’s home. Julian shared his insights on Burma’s crisis of the times by offering a perspective of how Thai government officials might view events, bantering alongside former Ambassador Asda Jayanama, ALTSEAN founder Debbie Stothard, and Michele Bohana, a Burma watcher from the US.

Julian had a Renaissance command of regional history that added chili to any discussion.  He seamlessly moved between an unlikely network of businessmen, investors, academics, high-so personalities and chain-smoking journalists. Whatever one thought of his ideas, his arguments were backed by historical references and an insatiable hunger for reading and reflecting on news.

When we were short on funding for an event for Burmese refugee youth, he used his PR contacts to secure a corporate donation.

Julian was like a charming character who stepped out of an unfinished Graham Greene novel, an astute gentleman with an easy laugh and a glass of some pricey 100-year-old single-malt scotch in hand, always open to engage. His legacy in Bangkok will stand as an old-school intellectual with a gold heart tucked beneath a crisply pressed white shirt.

Here’s hoping there’s a bar well stocked with single-malt on the other side Julian. Go well.‍

Geoffrey Goddard, former Frontier Myanmar editor, writes:

I met Julian Spindler in Bangkok in the late 1970s. We became close friends during my frequent visits to Bangkok after I began working in Yangon in 2001. One of Julian’s many gifts was his generosity, which found expression in the “White Room” parties he hosted for decades almost every Saturday night. At each party venue, initially on the ground floor of a heritage wooden villa in a spacious garden compound hidden behind shophouses on Larn Luang Road, and since the early noughties in the designed-for-purpose upstairs room in a house off Soi Rajakhru, was a white-carpeted room with big, white cushions and white-painted furniture. There were no chairs in the White Room. Convivial conversation was conducted at floor level. In many ways the White Room was a nurturing womb and as curated by Julian it sustained us in many ways, mainly in friendship but also in moments of sheer joy and unrestrained laughter. I once called Julian a “scenario artist” and he brimmed with delight. He well deserved the accolade because he created a scenario to show generosity to his friends. We will always love him for it. Julian David Spindler was blessed to go gently and painlessly into that good night. He buried his treasure in the hearts of his friends.

Marc Laban, partner at AsiaWorks, writes:

I first met Julian about 25 years ago at the FCCT, but we only became truly close friends through weekend tennis that began six years ago. We played on the dilapidated court next to his house on the Choonhaven compound. For someone in his late seventies — fifteen years my senior — Julian was a remarkably crafty player who beat me consistently. But those mornings were about much more than tennis. On breaks, we'd talk about life and politics, and Julian would deliver his particular blend of wit and wisdom. He was one of the most knowledgeable people I knew about Thai politics and business, an intellectual with a wicked sense of humor who could dissect complex issues with both insight and levity.

Even after his diagnosis, during my brief visits with him, that lust for life never dimmed. He still had stories to tell and that same enthusiasm for engaging with the world. Julian brought intelligence, humour and genuine friendship to everyone lucky enough to know him, and those weekend conversations remain among my most treasured memories.

Phichai Chuensuksawadi, former Bangkok Post editor in chief, writes:

I am not sure who started the group or selected its members. But without doubt Julian was the heart of our “Policy Group”.  This group started meeting about five and a half years ago and comprised Thais and long-time expatriate residents who care and love Thailand.

Our group was a mixed bag – Julian (marketing), John Hancock (law), Bandid Nijthaworn (banking), James Wise (diplomacy), Jean-Pierre A. Verbiest (economist) and me (media). We wanted to discuss and debate key issues affecting Thailand and to come up with policy papers for publication.

Since the group was formed in August 2020, our LINE group was peppered with daily news updates, analysis and commentaries from a wide range of sources from all over – and most of the articles were posted by Julian. We exchanged comments regularly and often in a lively manner. But that wasn’t enough.

Nothing beat face-to-face gatherings at Julian’s home in Soi Rachakhru. “Let’s meet early so we can have a long discussion,” I recall Julian saying repeatedly. We’d arrive around 17.00, start chatting, sip wine, nibble on crackers, dips and cheese as we exchanged views on the hot issues of the week or month.

Then, we proceeded to the dining table for dinner, and of course, more wine. As dinner slowed, out came the chocolates and desserts. Then, as the most gracious host, Julian pointed to the shelves of bottles filled with golden liquid and said: “Single malt anyone?”

From politics to the economy, from foreign affairs to corruption, the need for political and economic reform… then back to corruption, to social issues, and again back to corruption. This was how the conversations flowed.

Julian loved Thailand and he was passionate in expressing his views. He wanted to see change because Thailand can do better. He believed in reform and that a revolution would eventually erupt. We did not always agree but we expressed our views firmly and freely. Occasionally, we invited guests to join our “policy” dinners so that he could learn from their perspectives. At times we would join conferences or listen to panel discussions.

But there were two things we wanted to achieve but could not. First, identify a female member to join the group. We came up with several names but alas did not proceed further. Second, we never did produce a policy paper for publication.  James Wise did produce a first draft, but somehow, we did not go further. The reason: perhaps it was the single malts at the end of each dinner.

Last year when Julian broke the news of his illness and started chemotherapy, the policy dinners halted and in turn we visited Julian at home. And in between treatment, he still texted messages commenting on the twists and turns of Thai politics. In September last year (on his birthday), he messaged saying he had a great surprise party and was glad to reach 80. His aim was now to make it to make to the new year.

Towards the end of last year, the Policy Group met twice at the Yellow Line Café next to Julian’s home. He’d lost weight for sure but his desire to discuss all issues remained strong. The passion and love for Thailand remained steadfast.

Julian, you were an integral part of all our conversations. The group will meet again at the Yellow Lane Café and order a cinnamon roll (which you dislike) in your honor. The Policy Group will not be the same without you. We will miss you dearly. May you rest in peace.

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Please be advised of the funeral arrangements:

Venue: Wat Phai Ton, Saphan Kwai วัดไผ่ตัน สะพานควาย (Sala 9)

Funeral Schedule:

• Tuesday, 20 January, bathing rites at 4pm, chanting 6.30pm
• Wednesday & Thursday, evening chanting at 6.30pm
• Friday, 23 January, cremation at 4pm
• Saturday, 24 January, collection of the ashes at 8am followed by boat trip for floating of ashes