Mom Ratchawongse Chatumongol Sonakul ( th, จัตุมงคล โสณกุล) is Thailand's former Labour Minister and a former permanent secretary of the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Eco ...

of Thailand, and Governor of the

Bank of Thailand The Bank of Thailand (BOT) ( Abrv: ธปท.; th, ธนาคารแห่งประเทศไทย, ) is the central bank of Thailand. History The Bank of Thailand (BOT) was first set up as the Thai National Banking Bureau. The Bank ...

Life and career

Chatumongkol is a descendant of Thailand's royal family (great-grandson of King

Rama IV Mongkut ( th, มงกุฏ; 18 October 18041 October 1868) was the fourth monarch of Siam (Thailand) under the House of Chakri, titled Rama IV. He ruled from 1851 to 1868. His full title in Thai was ''Phra Bat Somdet Phra Menthora Ramathibo ...

) and belongs to the noble house of Sonakul. He was educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

and is an honors graduate of

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in England for engineering and economics and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

. He rose up through the civil service through the

Finance Ministry A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

, initially serving as Director-General of the Tax Department. Later he rose to be the ministry's deputy permanent secretary. He was the permanent secretary (the most senior civil servant) in the Ministry of Finance from 1 October 1995 to 28 July 1997. This was during the flotation of the

baht The baht (; th, บาท, ; currency sign, sign: ฿; ISO 4217, code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand. Society for Worldw ...

, which led to a massive

devaluation In macroeconomics and modern monetary policy, a devaluation is an official lowering of the value of a country's currency within a fixed exchange-rate system, in which a monetary authority formally sets a lower exchange rate of the national curren ...

, the

Asian Financial Crisis The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998–1 ...

, and a long period of

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

intervention. He was dismissed by the

Chavalit Yongchaiyudh Chavalit Yongchaiyudh ( th, ชวลิต ยงใจยุทธ, , ; born 15 May 1932), also known as "Big Jiew" (, , ), is a Thai politician and retired army officer. From 1986 to 1990 he was the Commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army ...

government soon after the devaluation. During the

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

-led government that followed, Chatumongkol was appointed Governor of the Bank of Thailand, Thailand's central bank. He held this position from 1998 to 30 May 2001, when he was dismissed by the newly elected

Thai Rak Thai The Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT; th, พรรคไทยรักไทย, , ; "Thais Love Thais Party") was a Thai political party founded in 1998. From 2001 to 2006, it was the ruling party under its founder, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatr ...

-led government. After his dismissal, Chatumongkol became a vocal critic of TRT leader

Thaksin Shinawatra Thaksin Shinawatra ( th, ทักษิณ ชินวัตร; ; ; Chinese: 丘達新; cnr, Taksin Šinavatra; born 26 July 1949), is a Thai businessman, politician and visiting professor. He served in the Thai Police from 1973 to 1987, a ...

. He denigrated Thaksin's populist job-creating policies, claiming that "Any attempt to create petty jobs is unnecessary... Policies should focus on providing machines and know-how."''Bangkok Post''
CHATUMONGOL HINTS AT FUTURE POLITICAL ROLE
10 May 2007 After a military junta overthrew Thaksin's government and canceled scheduled general elections in 2006, Chatumongkol was one of its favorites for the Premiership; eventually, General

Surayud Chulanont Surayud Chulanont ( th, สุรยุทธ์ จุลานนท์, , ; born 28 August 1943) is a Thai politician. He was the Prime Minister of Thailand and head of Thailand's interim government between 2006 and 2008. He is a former supr ...

was chosen by

King Bhumibol Bhumibol Adulyadej ( th, ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช; ; ; (Sanskrit: ''bhūmi·bala atulya·teja'' - "might of the land, unparalleled brilliance"); 5 December 192713 October 2016), conferred with the title King Bhumibol the Great ...

. He hinted that if the Democrat Party won post-coup elections, he would enter the political arena in support of the Democrats. However, the Democrats were defeated in the elections. When the Democrat Party gained control of the government in 2008, it appointed Chatumongkol as Chairman of the Board of the

. He noted that under Thaksin's populist policies, "people who got money did not think hard about how to use it. People who got motorcycles became motorcycle taxi drivers. Many got rich. But when more people became motorcycle taxi drivers, they ended up earning just 100 baht pproximately US$3a day. I used to survey some of those drivers. Many said they would not vote for haksin's

party anymore." On 20 July 2020, Chatumongol resigned from the leader of

Action Coalition for Thailand Action Coalition Party (ACP; th, พรรครวมพลัง, ; literally 'join people forces') is a political party in Thailand founded on 25 May 2018 by Tavisak Na Taguathung, lawyer of Suthep Thaugsuban. On 3 June 2018, the Action Coa ...

. For this reason, he dropped out of the position of Minister of Labor.

Personal life

His son, ''Mom Luang'' , was elected to be a Democrat Party MP in Bangkok in the former seat of Charoen Kantawongs.

Awards and decorations

National honours

*: ** Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Most Exalted

Order of the White Elephant __NOTOC__ The Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant ( th, เครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันเป็นที่เชิดชูยิ่งช้างเผือก; ) is an order (decoration), orde ...

** Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of The Most Noble

Order of the Crown of Thailand The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand ( th, เครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันมีเกียรติยศยิ่งมงกุฎไทย; ) is a Thai order, established in 1869 by King Rama ...

** Knight Grand Commander (Second Class, higher grade) of the Most Illustrious

Order of Chula Chom Klao The Most Illustrious Order of Chula Chom Klao ( th, เครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์จุลจอมเกล้า; ) was established on 16 November 1873 by King Chulalongkorn, Rama V of The Thailand, Kingdom of ...

** Chakrabarti Mala Medalราชกิจจานุเบกษา
ประกาศสำนักนายกรัฐมนตรี เรื่อง พระราชทานเหรียญจักรมาลาและเหรียญจักรพรรดิมาลา
เล่ม ๑๐๘ ตอนที่ ๑๑๐ ง ฉบับพิเศษ หน้า ๓๑๕, ๒๒ มิถุนายน ๒๕๓๔

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sonakul, Chatumongol Living people

Chatumongol Sonakul Mom Ratchawongse Chatumongol Sonakul ( th, จัตุมงคล โสณกุล) is Thailand's former Labour Minister and a former permanent secretary of the Ministry of Finance (Thailand), Ministry of Finance of Thailand, and Governor o ...

People educated at Harrow School

Harvard University alumni

1943 births