Thaksin Shinawatra
ทักษิณ ชินวัตร
Thaksin in 2005
23rd Prime Minister of Thailand
In office 9 February 2001 – 19 September 2006
Monarch	Bhumibol Adulyadej
Preceded by	Chuan Leekpai
Succeeded by	Sonthi Boonyaratglin (provisional)
Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand
In office 13 July 1995 – 8 November 1997
Prime Minister	Banharn Silpa-archa Chavalit Yongchaiyudh
Minister of Education
In office 14 June 2001 – 9 October 2001
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Kasem Watanachai
Succeeded by	Suwit Khunkitti
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 25 October 1994 – 10 February 1995
Prime Minister	Chuan Leekpai
Preceded by	Prasong Soonsiri
Succeeded by	Krasae Chanawongse
Special Economic Adviser of Cambodia
In office 4 November 2009 – 23 August 2010
Prime Minister	Hun Sen
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Leader of Thai Rak Thai Party
In office 14 July 1998 – 2 October 2006
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Chaturon Chaisang
Member of the House of Representatives
In office 6 February 2005 – 8 April 2005
Constituency	Party-list
In office 6 January 2001 – 11 March 2001
Constituency	Party-list
In office 2 July 1995 – 27 September 1996
Constituency	Bangkok 2nd
Member-elect of the House of Representatives[note 1]
In role 2 April 2006 – 8 May 2006
Constituency	Party-list
Personal details
Born	(1949-07-26) 26 July 1949 (age 74) San Kamphaeng, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Nationality	Thai Montenegrin[1] (2009–present)
Political party	Pheu Thai (de facto)
Other political affiliations	Thai Rak Thai (1998–2006)[2] Palang Dharma (1994–1998)
Spouse	Potjaman Na Pombejra ​ ​ (m. 1976; div. 2008)​ [3]
Relations	Yingluck Shinawatra (sister) Somchai Wongsawat (brother-in-law)
Children	Panthongtae Shinawatra Pinthongtha Shinawatra Paetongtarn Shinawatra
Residence	Bangkok
Alma mater	Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School Royal Police Cadet Academy Eastern Kentucky University Sam Houston State University (Ph.D.)
Profession	Businessperson Police officer (1973–1987) Politician Visiting professor[4]
Net worth	US$2 billion (July 2022)[5]
Signature
Royal Thai Police
Allegiance	Thailand
Department	Metropolitan Police Bureau
Service years	1973–1987
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel (revoked in 2015)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	丘達新
Simplified Chinese	丘达新
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Qiū Dáxīn Bopomofo ㄑㄧㄡˉ ㄉㄚˊ ㄒㄧㄣˉ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Chiou Darshin Wade–Giles Ch’iu1 Ta2-hsin1 Wu Shanghainese Romanization Chieu Daq-xin Hakka Pha̍k-fa-sṳ Khiû Tha̍t-sîn Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Yāu Daaht-sān Jyutping Jau1 Daat6-san1 Canton Romanization Yeo1 Dad6-sen1 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Khu Ta̍t-sin Teochew Peng'im Ku1 Dag8-sing1

Thaksin Shinawatra^{[note 2]} (born 26 July 1949) is a Thai businessman and politician. He served in the Thai Police from 1973 to 1987, and was the Prime Minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006.

Thaksin founded the mobile phone operator Advanced Info Service and the IT and telecommunications conglomerate Shin Corporation in 1987, ultimately making him one of the richest people in Thailand. He founded the Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT) in 1998 and, after a landslide electoral victory, became prime minister in 2001. He was the first democratically elected prime minister of Thailand to serve a full term and was re-elected in 2005 by an overwhelming majority.^{[citation needed]}

Thaksin declared a "war on drugs" in which more than 2,500 people were killed. Thaksin's government launched programs to reduce poverty, expand infrastructure, promote small and medium-sized enterprises, and extend universal healthcare coverage. Thaksin took a strong-arm approach against the separatist insurgency in the Muslim southern provinces.^{[citation needed]}

His decision to sell shares in his corporation for more than a billion tax-free dollars generated controversy. A protest movement against Thaksin, called People's Alliance for Democracy or "Yellow Shirts", launched mass demonstrations, accusing him of corruption, abuse of power, and autocratic tendencies. In 2006 Thaksin called snap elections that were boycotted by the opposition and invalidated by the Constitutional Court.

Thaksin was deposed in a military coup on 19 September 2006. His party was outlawed and he was barred from political activity.^[6] Thaksin lived in self-imposed exile for 15 years—except for a brief visit to Thailand in 2008—before returning to Thailand in August 2023. During his exile he was sentenced in absentia to two years in jail for abuse of power,^[7] and stripped of his Police Rank of Police Lieutenant Colonel.^[8]

From abroad, he continued to influence Thai politics through the People's Power Party that ruled in 2008 and its successor organisation Pheu Thai Party, as well as the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship or "Red Shirt" movement. His younger sister Yingluck Shinawatra was the prime minister of Thailand from 2011 to 2014.

Later in exile, Thaksin registered a Clubhouse account under the name Tony Woodsome, which became his moniker, and frequently held activities on the platform.^{[citation needed]} He also made several announcements expressing his desire to return to Thailand on various social media platforms.^{[citation needed]} Ultimately, Thaksin returned to Thailand on 22 August 2023, and was promptly taken into custody.^[9]

Heritage and early life

Thaksin's great-grandfather, Seng Saekhu, was an immigrant from Meizhou, Guangdong, China, who arrived in Siam in the 1860s and settled in Chiang Mai in 1908. His eldest son, Chiang Saekhu, was born in Chanthaburi in 1890 and married a local named Saeng Samana. Chiang's eldest son, Sak, adopted the Thai surname Shinawatra in 1938 because of the country's pro-Central Thai movement, and the rest of the family also adopted it.^[10]

Seng Saekhu had made his fortune through tax farming. Chiang Saekhu/Shinawatra later founded Shinawatra Silks and then moved into finance, construction, and property development. Thaksin's father, Loet, was born in Chiang Mai in 1919 and married Yindi Ramingwong. Yindi's father, Charoen Ramingwong (born: Wang Chuan Cheng), was a Hakka immigrant^[11] who married Princess Chanthip na Chiangmai, a minor member of the Lanna (Chiang Mai) royalty.^{[citation needed]}

In 1968, Loet Shinawatra entered politics and became an MP for Chiang Mai. Loet Shinawatra quit politics in 1976. He opened a coffee shop, grew oranges and flowers in Chiang Mai's San Kamphaeng District, and opened two cinemas, a gas station, and a car and motorcycle dealership. By the time Thaksin was born, the Shinawatra family was one of the richest and most influential families in Chiang Mai.^[10]

Thaksin was born in San Kamphaeng, Chiang Mai Province. He is a Theravada Buddhist. He lived in the village of San Kamphaeng until he was 15, then moved to Chiang Mai to study at Montfort College. At 16, he helped run one of his father's cinemas.^[12]

Thaksin married Potjaman Damapong in July 1976.^[13]: 38 They have one son, Panthongtae and two daughters, Pinthongtha and Paethongtarn. They divorced in 2008.^[14] Thaksin's youngest sister, Yingluck Shinawatra (Thai: ยิ่งลักษณ์ ชินวัตร; RTGS: yinglak chinnawat), is said to have entered politics in 2011 at her brother's request as leader of the pro-Thaksin Pheu Thai Party. She was later elected prime minister on 3 July 2011.^[15] Thaksin received a doctorate in criminology at Sam Houston State University.^[16] Thaksin lectured at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities of Mahidol University in 1979.^{[citation needed]}

Police career

Thaksin was a member of the 10th class of the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School,^[17] and was then admitted to the Thai Police Cadet Academy. Graduating in 1973, he joined the Royal Thai Police. He received a master's degree in criminal justice from Eastern Kentucky University in the United States in 1975, and three years later was awarded a doctorate in criminal justice at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas.^{[citation needed]}

Returning to Thailand, he reached the position of Deputy Superintendent of the Policy and Planning Sub-division, General Staff Division, Metropolitan Police Bureau, before resigning his commission in 1987 as a Police Lieutenant Colonel and leaving the police. His former wife, Potjaman Damapong, is the sister of Police General Priewpan Damapong and now uses her mother's maiden name.^[13]: 39

He is a former university lecturer at Royal Police Cadet Academy in 1975–1976.^[18][19]

Thaksin's police lieutenant colonel rank was revoked in September 2015.^[20][21]

Business career

Early ventures

Thaksin and his wife began several businesses while he was still in the police, including a silk shop, a cinema, and an apartment building. All were failures which left him over 50 million baht in debt, which is equal to £1008318.11. In 1982, he established ICSI. Using his police contacts, he leased computers to government agencies with modest success. However, later ventures in security systems (SOS) and public bus radio services (Bus Sound) all failed.^[22][23] In April 1986, he founded Advanced Info Service (AIS), which started as a computer rental business.^{[citation needed]}

In 1987 Thaksin resigned from the police. He then marketed a romance drama called Baan Sai Thong, which became a popular success in theatres.^[24][25] In 1988, he joined Pacific Telesis to operate and market the PacLink pager service, a modest success, though Thaksin later sold his shares to establish his own paging company.^[12][22]

In 1989, he launched IBC, a cable television company. At that time, Thaksin had a good relationship with Chalerm Yoobumrung, the minister of the Prime Minister's Office, who was in charge of Thai press and media. It is a question whether Chalerm granted the right to Thaksin to establish IBC to benefit his close friend, seeing that the project had been denied by the previous administration.^[26] However, it turned out to be a money loser and he eventually merged the company with the CP Group's UTV.^[22][27]

In 1989, Thaksin established a data networking service, Shinawatra DataCom,^[22] today known as Advanced Data Network and owned by AIS and TOT.^[28] Many of Thaksin's businesses were later consolidated as Shin Corporation.

Advanced Info Service and later ventures

Advanced Info Service (AIS) was given a monopoly contract by Thaksin's military contacts in 1986 and used the GSM-900 frequency band. AIS grew rapidly and became the largest mobile phone operator in Thailand.^[29]

The Shinawatra Computer and Communications Group was founded in 1987 and listed in 1990.

In 1990, Thaksin founded Shinawatra Satellite, which has developed and operated four Thaicom communications satellites.

In 1999, the Shinawatra family spent some one billion baht establishing Shinawatra University in Pathum Thani. It offers international programs in engineering, architecture, and business management, though it ranks quite low in international rankings.

In 2000, Thaksin acquired the ailing iTV television station from the Crown Property Bureau, Nation Multimedia Group, and Siam Commercial Bank.^[30][31]

Entry into politics

Political career

Thaksin entered politics in late 1994 through Chamlong Srimuang, who had just reclaimed the position of Palang Dharma Party (PDP) leader from Boonchu Rojanastien. In a subsequent purge of Boonchu-affiliated PDP cabinet ministers, Thaksin was appointed Foreign Minister in December 1994, replacing Prasong Soonsiri.^[32] Thaksin left Palang Dharma along with many of its MPs in 1996, and founded the populist Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party in 1998. After a historic election victory in 2001, he became prime minister, the country's first to serve a full term.^[33]

Thaksin introduced a range of policies to alleviate rural poverty. Highly popular, they helped reduce poverty by half in four years.^[34][35] He launched the country's first universal healthcare program,^[36] the 30-baht scheme, as well as a notorious drug suppression campaign.^[37] Thaksin embarked on a massive program of infrastructure investment, including roads, public transit, and Suvarnabhumi Airport. Nevertheless, public sector debt fell from 57 percent of GDP in January 2001 to 41 percent in September 2006.^[38][39] Levels of corruption were perceived to have fallen, with Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index improving from 3.2 to 3.8 between 2001 and 2005.^[40] The Thai Rak Thai party won in a landslide in the 2005 general election, which had the highest voter turnout in Thai history.^[41][42][43]

Twelve years later, after Thaksin was removed from power, Chamlong Srimuang expressed regret at getting "such a corrupt person" into politics. The PDP soon withdrew from the government over the Sor Por Kor 4-01 land reform corruption scandal, causing the government of Chuan Leekpai to collapse.

PDP leader and Deputy Prime Minister under Banharn

Chamlong, strongly criticised for mishandling internal PDP politics in the last days of the Chuan-government, retired from politics and hand-picked Thaksin as new PDP leader. Thaksin ran for election for the first time for the constitutional tribunal and lost.

Thaksin joined the government of Banharn Silpa-Archa and was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Bangkok traffic. In May 1996, he and four other PDP ministers quit the Banharn Cabinet (while retaining their MP seats), prompting a Cabinet reshuffle. Many have claimed that Thaksin's move was designed to help give Chamlong Srimuang a boost in the June 1996 Bangkok Governor elections, which Chamlong returned from retirement to contest.^[44] But Chamlong lost to Bhichit Rattakul, an independent.

Chamlong's failure to buttress the PDP's failing power base in Bangkok amplified divisions in the PDP, particularly between Chamlong's "temple" faction and Thaksin's. Soon afterwards, Chamlong announced he was retiring again from politics.^{[citation needed]}

Thaksin and the PDP pulled out of the Banharn-government in August 1996. In a subsequent no-confidence debate, the PDP gave evidence against the Banharn government, and in September 1996 Banharn dissolved Parliament.^{[citation needed]}

Thaksin announced he would not run in the subsequent November 1996 elections but would remain as leader of the PDP. It suffered a fatal defeat in the elections, winning only one seat, and soon imploded, with most members resigning.^{[citation needed]}

Deputy Prime Minister under Chavalit

On 15 August 1997, Thaksin became Deputy Prime Minister in Chavalit Yongchaiyudh's government, after the Thai baht was floated and devalued on 2 July 1997, sparking the Asian financial crisis. He held the position for only three months, leaving on 14 November when Chavalit resigned.

During a censure debate on 27 September 1997, Democrat Suthep Thaugsuban accused Thaksin of profiting from insider information about the government's decision to float the baht,^[45] but the next Democrat party-led government did not investigate the accusations.

During this period, Thaksin also served on the Asia Advisory Board of the Washington, D.C. based Carlyle Group until he resigned upon becoming Prime Minister in 2001.^[46]

The Thai Rak Thai Party and the 2001 elections

Thaksin founded the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) ('Thais Love Thais') party in 1998 along with Somkid Jatusripitak, PDP ally Sudarat Keyuraphan, Purachai Piumsomboon,^[47] and 19 others. Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=Thaksin_Sinawatra
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