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Thamanat Prompow

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Thamanat Prompow
ธรรมนัส พรหมเผ่า
Thamanat in Chiang Rai in 2020
Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives
In office
1 September 2023 – 3 September 2024
Prime MinisterSrettha Thavisin
Preceded byChalermchai Sri-on
Succeeded byNarumon Pinyosinwat
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives
In office
10 July 2019 – 8 September 2021
Prime MinisterPrayut Chan-o-cha
MinisterChalermchai Sri-on
Member of the House of Representatives
for Phayao 1st
Incumbent
Assumed office
24 March 2019
Preceded byArunee Chamnanya
Personal details
Born (1965-08-18) 18 August 1965 (age 59)
Phayao, Thailand
Political partyPalang Pracharath (2018–2022; 2023–present)
Other political
affiliations		Thai Rak Thai (1999-2007)
Pheu Thai (2008-2018)
Thai Economic (2022–2023)
SpouseArisara Prompow
Domestic partnerThanaporn Sriviraj
Children7
Alma materCalamus International University
California University FCE
ProfessionPolitician
Signature
Military service
AllegianceThailand
Branch/serviceRoyal Thai Army
RankCaptain

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]

Education

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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]

Heroin smuggling

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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]

Military service

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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]

Political career

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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]

Personal life

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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]

Royal decorations

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References

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  1. ^ Biggs, Andrew (11 September 2019). "What's in a name change?" (Opinion). Bangkok Post. No. B Magazine. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Thamanat to head new water resources subcommittees". The Nation. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  3. ^ "Australian report challenges Thamanat's claims". Bangkok Post. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  4. ^ "Thai Opposition Calls on Cabinet Member to Clear His Name". The New York Times. Reuters. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  5. ^ "Mr Thamanan Phrompha". Secretariat of the House of Representatives. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Thammanat claims he 'just slept' in Aussie lock-up". The Nation. 11 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  7. ^ Charuvastra, Teeranai (11 September 2019). "Thammanat says heroin exposé is political plot to smear him". Khaosod English. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  8. ^ "Thai minister Thammanat Prompao's apparent Australian criminal past revealed". South China Morning Post. 9 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  9. ^ a b Sattaburuth, Aekarach; Bangprapa, Mongkol (12 September 2019). "Thamanat's PhD in spotlight". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  10. ^ "Announcement". California University Foreign Credential Evaluation (CUFCE). Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  11. ^ "Thamanat's PhD in spotlight". Bangkok Post. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  12. ^ Rojanaphruk, Pravit (13 September 2019). "'Fake degrees' concern raised over Thammanat's credentials". Khaosod English. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  13. ^ "Wissanu says a fake PhD is irrelevant if Thammanat has a genuine BA degree". Thai PBS World. 14 September 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  14. ^ Sattaburuth, Aekarach (13 September 2019). "Thamanat to slap 100 lawsuits on critics". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  15. ^ "BBC Thai shows proof of Thammanat's imprisonment in Australia". The Nation. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  16. ^ Nanuam, Wassana (10 September 2019). "Thamanat denies being key gang member". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  17. ^ "ธรรมนัส พรหมเผ่า : คำแปลอย่างไม่เป็นทางการ คำพิพากษาของศาลแขวงรัฐนิวเซาท์เวลส์ คดี มนัส โบพรหม [Thamanat Phrompao: unofficial translation Judgment of the New South Wales District Court for the case of Manat Bophlom]". BBC Thai. 8 October 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  18. ^ "Come clean on drug past" (Opinion). Bangkok Post. 11 September 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  19. ^ Nanuam, Wassana (10 September 2019). "Govt leaders tight-lipped on Thamanat's heroin sentence in Australia". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  20. ^ Charuvastra, Teeranai (10 September 2019). "Thammanat threatens to sue Aussie paper for drug allegation". Khaosod English. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  21. ^ Charuvastra, Teeranai (9 September 2019). "Minister won't explain heroin conviction, jail time in Australia". Khaosod English. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  22. ^ Nanuam, Wassana; Sattaburuth, Aekarach (12 September 2019). "Capt Thammanat opens up about 'dubious' past". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  23. ^ Ruffles, Michael; Massola, James; Evans, Michael (12 September 2019). "Ex-con cabinet minister changes story over Sydney jail time". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  24. ^ "Where heroin trafficking is no bar to public office" (Opinion). The Sydney Morning Herald. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  25. ^ "เพื่อนร่วม ครม. โยน ธรรมนัส แจงเองคดียาเสพติด มั่นใจไม่กระทบภาพรัฐบาล". BBC News ไทย.
  26. ^ "Govt defends 'pillow' plan". Bangkok Post. 24 December 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  27. ^ Ruffles, Michael; Evans, Michael (27 February 2020). "Thai minister faces censure for lying over Sydney jail time". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  28. ^ Ruffles, Michael; Evans, Michael (3 March 2020). "Thai minister who pleaded guilty in Sydney heroin case now says 'it was flour'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  29. ^ "Prayut sacks Thamanat, Narumon from cabinet". Bangkok Post.
  30. ^ "Thamanat's future unclear". Bangkok Post.
  31. ^ a b "'Renegade' Thammanat and followers return to ruling party". The Nation. 9 February 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  32. ^ "รู้จัก 'พรรคเศรษฐกิจไทย' พรรคใหม่ ก๊วนธรรมนัส". 20 January 2022.
  33. ^ "Thamanat vows to quit". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  34. ^ "Rebel Thamanat's faction secures three Cabinet seats: sources". The Nation. 28 August 2024. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  35. ^ Ruffles, Michael; Evans, Michael (9 September 2019). "From sinister to minister: politician's drug trafficking jail time revealed". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  36. ^ ราชกิจจานุเบกษา, ประกาศสำนักนายกรัฐมนตรี เรื่อง พระราชทานเครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันเป็นที่เชิดชูยิ่งช้างเผือกและเครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันมีเกียรติยศยิ่งมงกุฎไทย ประจำปี ๒๕๖๔, เล่ม ๑๓๙ ตอนพิเศษ ๑ ข หน้า ๒, ๑๔ กุมภาพันธ์ ๒๕๖๕
  37. ^ ราชกิจจานุเบกษา, ประกาศสำนักนายกรัฐมนตรี เรื่อง พระราชทานเครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันเป็นที่เชิดชูยิ่งช้างเผือกและเครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันมีเกียรติยศยิ่งมงกุฎไทย ประจำปี ๒๕๖๓, เล่ม ๑๓๘ ตอนพิเศษ ๑ ข หน้า ๒, ๒๒ มกราคม ๒๕๖๔

Further reading

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