Kraisak Choonhavan ( th, ไกรศักดิ์ ชุณหะวัณ, born 8 October 1947 – 11 June 2020) was a Thai politician. He was a member of the Senate for Nakhon Ratchasima Province from 2000 till 2006.

Family and education

Born the son of former prime minister General Chatichai Choonhavan and

Than Phu Ying Honorifics are a class of words or grammatical morphemes that encode a wide variety of social relationships between interlocutors or between interlocutors and referents.Foley, William. ''Anthropological Linguistics: An Introduction''. Oxford: Black ...

Bunruen Choonhavan, Kraisak attended

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 ...

in Bangkok and

Wilbraham & Monson Academy Wilbraham & Monson Academy (WMA) is a college-preparatory school located in Wilbraham, Massachusetts. Founded in 1804, it is a four-year boarding and day high school for students in Grades 9-12 and postgraduate. A middle school, with Grades 6–8 ...

Wilbraham, Massachusetts Wilbraham is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb of the City of Springfield, and part of the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,613 at the 2020 census. Part of the town comprises ...

. He received a bachelor's degree in

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

at the

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...

, and master's degree at the

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury a ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. He taught political economy at

Kasetsart University Kasetsart University ( th, มหาวิทยาลัยเกษตรศาสตร์; ), commonly known and referred to as Kaset or KU, is a public research university in Bangkok, Thailand. It is the largest university in Thailand. It ...

(1976–1989) and taught the politics of Southeast Asian countries and became an activist for human rights and the environment.

Political career

Kraisak was an adviser to the prime minister (1989–1991) and was in charge of peace negotiations with Cambodia. After the coup in 1991, he was appointed chief adviser to the

Governor of Bangkok The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration ( th, กรุงเทพมหานคร; ) (BMA) is the local government of Bangkok (also called ''Krung Thep Maha Nakhon'' in Thai), which includes the capital of the Kingdom of Thailand. The govern ...

(until 1995) on urban pollution and arts and culture. He was elected senator in 2001 and became the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Senate prior to the 2006 Thailand coup. In the senate he was a leading member of a progressive group of 45 senators who opposed human rights violations, corruption, and other abuses under the

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, ...

government. He was often interviewed on these issues by international media agencies. After the coup, local media claimed that the

military junta A military junta () is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the national and local junta organized by the Spanish resistance to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in ...

approached him to become the foreign minister of the interim civilian government. However, he denied the junta made such an approach. It was alleged that the military appointed him as part of the team for public relations work. Kraisak emphatically denied having been approached, much less taken part. After the general elections in 2007, Kraisak was a member of the parliament (proportional representation) of the opposition party (the Democrat Party) and was elected as deputy leader responsible for the northeast. He held the position of the President of

ASEAN ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...

Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) which is composed of like-minded members of parliaments from ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) who work together to restore freedom in Myanmar.

Death

Kraisak was diagnosed with tongue cancer in 2015. He died at Siriraj Piyamaharajkarun Hospital in Bangkok on 11 June 2020.

References

External links

Biography at senate.go.thKraisak website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Choonhavan, Kraisak Kraisak Choonhavan Kraisak Choonhavan Kraisak Choonhavan 1947 births 2020 deaths Elliott School of International Affairs alumni Alumni of the University of London Kraisak Choonhavan Kraisak Choonhavan Wilbraham & Monson Academy alumni Kraisak Choonhavan Kraisak Choonhavan Kraisak Choonhavan