Thamanat Prompow | |
---|---|
ธรรมนัส พรหมเผ่า | |
Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives | |
In office 1 September 2023 –3 September 2024 | |
Prime Minister | Srettha Thavisin |
Preceded by | Chalermchai Sri-on |
Succeeded by | Narumon Pinyosinwat |
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives | |
In office 10 July 2019 –8 September 2021 | |
Prime Minister | Prayut Chan-o-cha |
Minister | Chalermchai Sri-on |
Member of the House of Representatives for Phayao 1st | |
Assumed office 24 March 2019 | |
Preceded by | Arunee Chamnanya |
Personal details | |
Born | Phayao,Thailand | 18 August 1965
Political party | Palang Pracharath (2018–2022;2023–present) |
Other political affiliations | Thai Rak Thai (1999-2007) Pheu Thai (2008-2018) Thai Economic (2022–2023) |
Spouse | Arisara Prompow |
Domestic partner | Thanaporn Sriviraj |
Children | 7 |
Alma mater | Calamus International University California University FCE |
Profession | Politician |
Signature | |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Thailand |
Branch/service | Royal Thai Army |
Rank | Captain |
Thamanat Prompow, [1] is the current Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives of Thailand since 1 September 2023. He formerly served as the Deputy Minister of the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry of Thailand under second Prayut cabinet. He also served as chairman of the National Water Resources Committee (NWRC). [2] He has long served as a political "fixer" for the military junta that assumed power in the 2014 Thai coup d'état. [3] Thamanat has described himself as "the main artery" in Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's 17-party government coalition which Thamanat helped forge in the 2019 Thai general election. [4] He was born on 18 August 1965. [5] [6] [7] [8]
Thamanat holds a bachelor's degree from Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy,a master's degree in Buddhism from Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University and a master's in political science from Ramkhamhaeng University. [9] He has a PhD in public administration from Calamus International University and California University FCE (CUFCE). [10] [11] His dissertation,The forms of the local performance development and promotion with image and identity in order to increase the value-added and value-creation:a case study of Phayao Province was "posted" in the European Journal according to Thamanat. [9] Some have suggested that the doctoral degree might be bogus. [12] Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam says it does not matter if the doctoral degree is fake as it is irrelevant. [13] Thamanat has vowed to file around 100 lawsuits against those who he believes have lied about his past. [14]
Thamanat Prompow was convicted of conspiring to import heroin to Australia. The ruling was handed down on 31 March 1994 when he was sentenced to six years imprisonment. Manat served four years,then was deported upon his release. [15] BBC Thai reporters traveled to Downing Court in Sydney to view court records. Forbidden to make photocopies,they translated a relevant court document into Thai as proof of the conviction that Thamanat continues to deny. [16] [17] Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwon asked the Thai people to leave the past in the past,saying the case has already been cleared up and that it was a matter concerning one person that has nothing to do with the nation. [18] [19] Thamanat claims he will sue the Sydney Morning Herald for defamation, [20] although he declines to respond to their reporting. [21]
Thamanat served in the Royal Thai Army,rising to the rank of captain. He frequently uses his former military rank before his name and is often referred to as "Captain" by the media. [22]
Political activists have asked the Election Commission of Thailand (EC) to answer several Thamanat-related questions:how he managed to get reinstated in the army after his long stay in Australia in "state-sponsored accommodation" [23] [24] and then got promoted in 1997 after returning to Thailand,and why he used the military rank of captain in documents he submitted to join the current cabinet even though his title was revoked in a Royal Thai Government Gazette announcement in September 1998. [6]
Thamanat began his political career with the Thai Rak Thai Party in 1999. [25] In the 2014 Thai general election,he ran for a seat in the House of Representatives as a Pheu Thai Party candidate,but the election was declared invalid. When the National Council for Peace and Order seized power in 2014,he was one of the persons ordered to report to the National Council for Peace and Order. In 2018,Thamanat joined the Palang Pracharath Party,being appointed chairman for its northern strategy,and was elected to the House of Representatives for Phayao District 1 by defeating Arunee Chamnanya of the Puea Thai Party.[ citation needed ]
As Deputy Agriculture Minister Thamanat has been active in his support of Thai farmers. In December 2019 he proposed spending 18 billion baht to purchase 30 million latex foam pillows to prop up rubber prices for struggling growers. The proposal would require buying 150,000 tonnes of latex from Thai rubber farmers who would be paid 65 baht per kilogram instead of the market price of 40 baht. The chief of Thai Hua Rubber PLC,in favour of the idea,suggested that the pillows—estimated to cost 600 baht to manufacture—could be sold at low prices or given free to foreign tourists. [26]
Along with several other ministers of Prime Minister Prayut's government,Thamanat was the subject of a multi-day censure debate in the Thai Parliament in February 2020. Opposition parties charged that Thamanat is ineligible to be a cabinet minister because of his criminal record,and says he lied to Parliament about his case. In the course of the debate Thamanat tried to block the admission of Australian court records,arguing that accepting an Australian court's decision as proof of his unfitness for office would be an infringement of Thai sovereignty. [27] During the debate Thamanat went on to claim that the 3.2 kilograms of heroin he was accused of smuggling into Australia was ordinary flour. At debate's end,he was rebuked by 17 members of his own party and received fewer votes of confidence than the five other ministers involved,but kept his job as Deputy Minister of Agriculture. [28]
On 9 September 2021,Thamanat was sacked from the cabinet after he had been accused of being behind a move to oust Prime Minister Prayut during the previous week's censure debate in parliament. [29] [30] He and 20 MPs loyal to him were later expelled from Palang Pracharath in January 2022. [31] His group joined the Thai Economic Party,of which he became party leader. [32] Thamanat and his followers returned to Palang Pracharath in February 2023,after Prayut's faction had split from Palang Pracharath to join the United Thai Nation Party. [31]
Following the 2023 Thai general election,Thamanat became Minister of Agriculture in the Srettha cabinet led by the Pheu Thai Party. In August 2024,Srettha was removed by the Constitutional Court and replaced by Paethongtharn Shinawatra. During the negotiations for the formation of the new cabinet,conflict emerged within Palang Pracharath between the factions of Thamanat and party leader Prawit over ministerial positions. [33] This culminated in Pheu Thai's decision to remove Phalang Pracharath from the government coalition but still retaining the faction led by Thamanat,which obtained three cabinet seats. [34]
Thamanat's parliamentary declaration of assets in August 2019 listed two wives,seven children,and a net worth of about A$42 million,including a Bentley,Rolls-Royce,Tesla,and Mercedes-Benz along with 12 Hermès and 13 Chanel handbags,luxury watches,and Thai Buddha amulets. [35]
Apirak Kosayodhin is a former Thai business executive and former governor of Bangkok. In the gubernatorial elections on August 29,2004 he won with 40% of the votes. He was re-elected on October 6,2008,in the gubernatorial elections with 45% of the vote,but he resigned a month later after being indicted on charges of corruption.
Sudarat Keyuraphan is a Thai politician and former member of the Pheu Thai Party. She participated in protests in May 1992. She is a former minister who held various positions during Thaksin Shinawatra and Chuan Leekpai governments. Currently,she is the chairman of the Thai Pueng Thai Foundation,as well as the founder,and leader of the Thai Sang Thai Party.
Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan is a Thai businessman and politician who served as the acting Prime Minister of Thailand following Yingluck Shinawatra's removal from office by the Constitutional Court of Thailand on 7 May 2014 until his deposition in a coup d'état three weeks after taking office. Before becoming acting premier,he was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce,and before that managed the country's rice pledging scheme.
Vicharn Minchainant is a Thai politician. He is a former Deputy Minister of Ministry of Public Health,a Bangkok Member of Parliament,deputy leader of Pheu Thai Party and leader of Pheu Thai Bangkok MPs.
Aswin Kwanmuang is a Thai politician and Former Deputy Commissioner of Royal Thai Police who served as the governor of Bangkok from october 2016 to march 2022. He was an independent candidate in the 2022 Bangkok gubernatorial election but was not elected.
Taweesin Visanuyothin is a Thai psychiatrist. He is widely noted for performing the duties of spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health and the Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) which gives brief daily summaries of the COVID-19 situation in Thailand.
Naraporn Chan-o-cha is a Thai educator. She was an associate professor at the Faculty of Arts of Chulalongkorn University. She is the wife of Prayut Chan-o-cha,the 29th prime minister of Thailand.
Chalermchai Sri-on is a Thai politician who is the current leader of the Democrat Party. He previously served as Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives in the second cabinet of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
Phipat Ratchakitprakarn is a Thai politician. He served as Minister of Tourism and Sports in the second cabinet of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
Anek Laothamatas is a Thai political scientist and politician. He serves as Minister of Higher Education,Science,Research and Innovation in the second cabinet of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha since 5 August 2020.
Nataphol Teepsuwan is a Thai politician. He served as Minister of Education in the second cabinet of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha from 10 July 2019 until he was removed from office. In February 2021,he was found guilty of insurrection during protests that led to the 2014 coup d'état. He was released from prison on bail that same month,which stands in contrast to his sentence still standing at a prison term of seven years and four months.
Pichet Durongkaveroj is a former Thai politician. He was the Minister of Science and Technology and Minister of Digital Economy and Society in the first cabinet of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn is a Thai politician. He served as Minister of Digital Economy and Society in the second cabinet of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. He replaced Puttipong Punnakanta who was removed from office after being found guilty of insurrection during protests that led to the 2014 coup d'état.
Sita Divari,is a former Thai Air Force officer and politician. He is a former spokesperson for the Prime Minister's Office in the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Tankhun Jitt-itsara is a Thai politician,former actor and television host.
Sakoltee Phattiyakul is a Thai politician and activist. He was one of leaders of the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) during the 2013–2014 mass protests. He used to be a deputy Bangkok governor between 2018 and 2022.
Cholnan Srikaew is a Thai politician and former physician. He was previously the Opposition Leader in the House of Representatives of Thailand from 23 December 2021 to 20 March 2023. He was the leader of the Pheu Thai Party from 28 October 2021 to 30 August 2023.
Suchart Tancharoen is a Thai politician from the Pheu Thai Party. He is former First Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Watanya "Dear" Bunnag,also known as Madame Dear is a Thai politician and businesswoman. She previously served as a party-list MP for the Palang Pracharath Party before joining the Democrat Party.
Maris Sangiampongsa is a Thai career diplomat who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 30 April 2024 under Srettha Thavisin's cabinet and currently under Paetongtarn Shinawatra's cabinet.