Chirayu Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya (, , ; born 12 November 1942) is a Thai economist and court official. He has been the Director-General of the

Crown Property Bureau The Crown Property Bureau (CPB) ( th, สำนักงานทรัพย์สินพระมหากษัตริย์; ) is legally the administrative agency responsible for managing the property of the King of Thailand. It has no ...

and Grand

Chamberlain Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...

of the

Bureau of the Royal Household The Bureau of the Royal Household (BRH) ( th, สำนักพระราชวัง) is an agency of the monarchy of Thailand. In addition to a range of administrative and ceremonial responsibilities, the bureau also serves as a conduit for ...

since 1987 and become Lord Chamberlain of the Royal Household in the end of 2016. Chirayu is an avowed proponent of the "sufficiency economy" philosophy that is promoted by King

Bhumibol Adulyadej 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 ...

Background and education

Chirayu was born in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

. The Isarangkun family is a distant side branch of the ruling Chakri Dynasty. The particle ''na Ayutthaya'' indicates this distant royal ancestry. Chirayu's father Charunphan Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya was a diplomat, foreign minister, and member of King Bhumibol's Privy Council. Chirayu visited Bangkok's prestigious all-boys

Saint Gabriel's College Saint Gabriel's College ( th, โรงเรียนเซนต์คาเบรียล) is a private Catholic all-boys school in Bangkok, Thailand. The school was founded by the Brothers of Saint Gabriel in 1920. The school educates stu ...

, before moving to the

King's College School King's College School, also known as Wimbledon, KCS, King's and KCS Wimbledon, is a public school in Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The school was founded in 1829 by King George IV, as the junior department of King's College London an ...

Wimbledon, London Wimbledon () is a district and town of Southwest London, England, southwest of the centre of London at Charing Cross; it is the main commercial centre of the London Borough of Merton. Wimbledon had a population of 68,187 in 2011 which includes ...

, where he acquired his

A-levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational au ...

in 1960. Subsequently, he studied economics at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

, receiving an Honours degree in 1964. He took a doctoral degree from the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

in 1971.

Career

From 1976 to 1979, Chirayu was the dean of the faculty of economics of the government-run

National Institute of Development Administration The National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) th, สถาบันบัณฑิตพัฒนบริหารศาสตร์) is a public graduate university in Thailand under the Commission on Higher Education, the Mini ...

(NIDA). Chirayu became Minister of Industry under Prime Minister

Prem Tinsulanonda Prem Tinsulanonda ( th, เปรม ติณสูลานนท์, , ; 26 August 1920 – 26 May 2019) was a Thai military officer, politician, and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Thailand from 3 March 1980 to 4 August 1988, ...

in 1985, and Minister to the Office of Prime Minister one year later. After he had taken a stand for a controversial

tantalum Tantalum is a chemical element with the symbol Ta and atomic number 73. Previously known as ''tantalium'', it is named after Tantalus, a villain in Greek mythology. Tantalum is a very hard, ductile, lustrous, blue-gray transition metal that ...

factory in Phuket Province that was burnt down by furious locals who were afraid of hazardous wastes, Chirayu was confronted with allegations of corruption, that could however not been proven. Later, King Bhumibol appointed him Director-General of the

(CPB), that is responsible for administering the immense royal assets. Moreover, the king appointed him as Grand Chamberlain of the Bureau of the Royal Household. He is member of the

boards of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organi ...

of several companies in which the CPB is a principal shareholder. Since 1987 he has been President of the Board of Directors of

Deves Insurance The Deves Insurance Public Company Limited is a Thai insurance company based in Bangkok at Ratchadamnoen Klang Road. The company is one of the leading insurance companies in the country. It received the royal warrant from the King of Thailand. T ...

. During and after 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– ...

, he was the President of the Board of Directors of

Siam Cement The Siam Cement Public Company Limited (SCG; ) is the largest and oldest cement and building material company in Thailand and Southeast Asia. In 2016, SCG was also ranked as the second largest company in Thailand and the 604th largest public compan ...

— which is one of the biggest corporations of Thailand — from 1998 to 1999, and of

Siam Commercial Bank Siam Commercial Bank ( th, ธนาคารไทยพาณิชย์; ) is a Thai bank that was founded on 30 January 1907. History SCB was founded as the "Book Club" on 4 October 1904 by Prince Jayanta Mongkol, a brother of King Ch ...

— the country's second largest bank — from 1998 to 2007. Since 2007 he has again led the Board of Directors of Siam Cement. Moreover, he has been Chancellor of the Council of NIDA since 1998. He manages several foundations under the auspices of the royal family, including the Sai Jai Thai Foundation (for wounded and disabled veterans), the

Royal Project Foundation The Royal Project Foundation is a Thai non-profit organisation based in north Thailand. It was founded by King Bhumibol Adulyadej as an umbrella organization for his charitable initiatives and research.

, and the Queen's Foundation of the Promotion of Supplementary Occupations (for farmers).

Honours

National honours

* Knight Grand Cross (First Class) of the Most Illustrious Order of Chula Chom Klao (2017) * 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 of Thailand. It wa ...

(1984) * 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 ...

(1983) * Recipient of the Chakrabarti Mala Medal (2012) * Recipient of the King Rama IX Royal Cypher Medal (1991) *

King Rama X Royal Cypher Medal (Thailand) ribbon

Recipient of the King Rama X Royal Cypher Medal (2019)Government Gazette
Announcement on the Royal Order of Chula Chom Klao, the Front, the most glorified decoration of the White Elephant and Rattanaporn medals.
Volume 136, Part 46 B, Page 2, August 16, 2019

Foreign honours

Order of Orange-Nassau ribbon - Knight Grand Cross

Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

(

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, 2004)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, Chirayu 1942 births Living people Chirayu Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya Chirayu Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya Chirayu Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya Chirayu Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya Chirayu Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya Chirayu Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya Chirayu Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya Chirayu Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya Chirayu Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya