Chavarat Charnvirakul ( th, ชวรัตน์ ชาญวีรกูล, , ; born 7 June 1936 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 ...

) is a Thai politician. He had served as an

Acting Prime Minister An acting prime minister is a cabinet member (often in Westminster system countries) who is serving in the role of prime minister, whilst the individual who normally holds the position is unable to do so. The role is often performed by the deput ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

as a result of the 2008 Thai political crisis.

Education

Chaovarat graduated from

Thammasat University Thammasat University ( Abrv: TU th, มธ.; th, มหาวิทยาลัยธรรมศาสตร์, , ) is a public research university in Thailand with campuses in Tha Phra Chan area of Phra Nakhon District near the Grand Pala ...

in 1966 with a degree in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

Political career

After spending many years in the public sector, he joined the government in 1994 as Deputy Minister of Finance, his tenure lasted till 1997. In 2008 he rejoined the government as

Minister of Public Health The Minister for Public Health and Women's Health is a junior ministerial post in the Scottish Government. The minister is not a member of the Scottish Cabinet, however, they report to the Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care. ...

and later

Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand The deputy prime minister of Thailand () is a ministerial position within the government of Thailand The Government of Thailand, or formally the Royal Thai Government ( Abrv: RTG; th, รัฐบาลไทย, , ), is the unitary gov ...

. On 2 December 2008, the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

ordered the dissolution of the People's Power Party and other coalition parties, at the same time banning their chief executives. The incumbent Prime Minister,

Somchai Wongsawat Somchai Wongsawat ( th, สมชาย วงศ์สวัสดิ์, ; born 31 August 1947) is a Thai politician who was the prime minister of Thailand in 2008 and a former executive member of the People's Power Party (PPP) whose polit ...

, was then removed along with several other members of the Cabinet. Chaovarat, however, was the only senior Cabinet figure who was not a party executive and was therefore the only viable candidate. Either the

House of Representatives of Thailand The House of Representatives ( th, สภาผู้แทนราษฎร; ; ) is the lower house of the National Assembly of Thailand, the legislative branch of the Thai government. The system of government of Thailand is that of a constitu ...

had to confirm him as the new Prime Minister, or the new political grouping must vote for a new leader and submit his name for approval. There has been some questions - even a letter submitted to the

by Senators - concerning the legality of his temporary appointment as Prime Minister (even in a caretaker capacity). This is because the 2007 Constitution of Thailand states that the Prime Minister must be a member of the House of Representatives; Chaovarat was not an MP. Chaovarat was replaced by Abhisit Vejjajiva on 15 December 2008. He was appointed Minister of Interior of Thailand in the

Abhisit cabinet The Abhisit Cabinet ( Council of Ministers) or formally the 59th Council of Ministers (คณะรัฐมนตรี คณะที่ 59) was announced after the appointment of Abhisit Vejjajiva as Prime Minister of Thailand on the 17 Decem ...

, a post which he held until the government's electoral defeat in 2011. On 14 February 2009, Chaovarat became the leader of the

Bhumjaithai Party Bhumjaithai Party (BJT; th, พรรคภูมิใจไทย, , ; 'Thai Pride Party') was founded on 5 November 2008, in anticipation of the 2 December 2008 Constitutional Court of Thailand ruling that dissolved its "de facto predecessor ...

until 4 September 2012, in which he was succeeded by his son,

Anutin Charnvirakul Anutin Charnvirakul ( th, อนุทิน ชาญวีรกูล, ; born 13 September 1966 in Bangkok) is a Thai politician. , he is a Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand and is also the Minister of Public Health. Notably, he is the promin ...

Royal decorations

* 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 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 ...

Order of the British Empire (Civil) Ribbon

Honorary Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE)ประกาศสำนักนายกรัฐมนตรี เรื่อง พระราชทานพระบรมราชานุญาตให้ประดับเครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์ต่างประเทศ
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charnvirakul, Chavarat 1936 births

Chavarat Charnvirakul Chavarat Charnvirakul ( th, ชวรัตน์ ชาญวีรกูล, , ; born 7 June 1936 in Bangkok) is a Thai politician. He had served as an Acting Prime Minister of Thailand as a result of the 2008 Thai political crisis. Educatio ...

Cantonese people

Living people

Honorary Commanders of the Order of the British Empire