Don Pramudwinai ( th, ดอน ปรมัตถ์วินัย, , ; born 25 January 1950) is a Thai diplomat serving as

foreign minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

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 bo ...

(2020).

Early life and education

Don attended Wat Suthiwararam and

Suankularb Wittayalai School Suankularb Wittayalai School (โรงเรียนสวนกุหลาบวิทยาลัย) (also known as Suankularb College) literally ''Rose Garden College'' is an all-boys secondary school for grades 7 through 12 in Bangkok, T ...

s. As an undergraduate he studied at the

Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University The Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, is regarded as one of the oldest modern higher education institutions in Thailand. It is the first faculty of political science in Thailand and is considered one of the best according to ...

(1967–1968). He received a BA in political science and an MA in international relations from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. He also received an MA in international relations from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

.รัฐมนตรีว่าการกระทรวงการต่างประเทศ
กระทรวงการต่างประเทศ

Career

Don Pramudwinai joined the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

in 1974. In 1992 he was appointed director-general of the Department of East Asian Affairs. From 1994 to 1998 he was posted as Thailand's ambassador to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

, and

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...

. From 1999 to 2000 he was the Foreign Ministry spokesperson. From 2000 to 2004 he served as ambassador to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

, and

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

. From 2004 to 2007 he served as ambassador to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. From 2007 until 2009 he served as permanent representative to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

in New York. From 2009 until 2010 he served as ambassador to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In 2014 he was appointed deputy foreign minister to Foreign Minister

Thanasak Patimaprakorn Thanasak Patimaprakorn ( th, ธนะศักดิ์ ปฏิมาประกร; born 9 November 1953) is a Thai military officer who formerly served as its deputy prime minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was appointed by prim ...

, and in 2015 was elevated to minister of foreign affairs. In an August 2020 Cabinet reshuffle, he was also appointed as deputy prime minister in addition to his position as minister of foreign affairs. In 2022 Don has been instrumental in pushing for the restoration of Thai-Saudi relations, this marks the first high-level visit in three decades between the two countries.

Awards and honors

* 1998: Knight Grand Cordon 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 ...

* 2003: Knight Grand Cordon 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 ...

* 2004: Knight Commander 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 ...

ราชกิจจานุเบกษา
ประกาศสำนักนายกรัฐมนตรี เรื่อง พระราชทานเหรียญจักรมาลาและเหรียญจักรพรรดิมาลา
เล่ม ๑๑๘ ตอนที่ ๔ ข หน้า ๒๑๔, ๒๒ กุมภาพันธ์ ๒๕๔๔

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pramudwinai, Don 1950 births Living people

Don Pramudwinai Don Pramudwinai ( th, ดอน ปรมัตถ์วินัย, , ; born 25 January 1950) is a Thai diplomat serving as foreign minister of Thailand (2020). Early life and education Don attended Wat Suthiwararam and Suankularb Wittayalai ...

University of California, Los Angeles alumni Tufts University alumni