Pipob Thongchai ( th, พิภพ ธงไชย) is a

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

leader who advocates a wide range of issues. He has been active since he was a college student, when he was secretary of the University Student Federation of Thailand. He is also a former member of the Council of Socio-economic Consultants of Thailand, the Committee for Democratic Advocacy of Thailand, and the Children's Foundation of

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 ...

. Thongchai was an early supporter of

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 ...

and called for general support from the

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.People's Alliance for Democracy The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD; th, พันธมิตรประชาชนเพื่อประชาธิปไตย, Phanthamit Prachachon Pheu Prachathipatai; commonly known as "Yellow Shirts") is a Thai reactionary, m ...

(PAD), the group that launched a major campaign demanding Prime Minister

resign. The PAD supported a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

by the royally-supported military on 19 September 2006. In September 2008, Thongchai advocated a state-sponsored scheme of early childhood

character education Character education is an umbrella term loosely used to describe the teaching of children and adults in a manner that will help them develop variously as moral, civic, good, mannered, behaved, non-bullying, healthy, critical, successful, traditiona ...

and development, which would serve to indoctrinate children younger than three years in the morals and ethics of "

Thainess Thainess or the Thai identity ( th, ความเป็นไทย, ) is a conceptual identity regarding the quality of being Thai, i.e. characteristics seen as distinctive to the Thai people, their culture, and those belonging to Thailand as a ...

". As of 7 October 2009, he serves as an advisor to the

New Politics Party The New Politics Party (abbreviated NPP; th, พรรคการเมืองใหม่ , ), was a political party in Thailand founded on 2 June 2009. The NPP was the political party of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD; "Yellow Sh ...

.''The Nation''
Sondhi elected as new leader
, October 7, 2009

References

Living people Pipob Thongchai Pipob Thongchai 1945 births {{Thailand-bio-stub