Rosana Tositrakul ( th, รสนา โตสิตระกูล; born 27 September 1953) is a Thai politician and former Senator for

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, 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 estima ...

. She was first elected in 2006, only to find the polls scrapped by a military coup. She was voted into office a second time in 2008 with over 740,000 votes. In 2019, she announced her intention to contest in the 2022 Bangkok gubernatorial election as an independent candidate.

Early life and education

Rosana graduated from secondary school from Mahaprutharam Girls' School and a bachelor's degree from the Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication at

Thammasat University Thammasat University (Abbreviation, 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 ...

in 1974.

Activist work

After graduating from

, Rosana formed the

NGO 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 ...

"Traditional Medicine for Self-Curing", later renamed the "Thai Holistic Health Foundation". She spent a year studying with

Masanobu Fukuoka was a Japanese farmer and philosopher celebrated for his natural farming and re-vegetation of desertified lands. He was a proponent of no-till, herbicide and pesticide free cultivation methods from which he created a particular method of agricul ...

, the developer of

natural farming Natural farming ( 自然農法, shizen nōhō),1975 1978 re-presentation ''The One-Straw Revolution: An Introduction to Natural Farming''. also referred to as "the Fukuoka Method", "the natural way of farming" or "do-nothing farming", is an ec ...

, and helped introduce organic farming to Kut Chum District,

Yasothon Province Yasothon province ( th, ยโสธร, ), one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (''changwat''), lies in central northeastern Thailand also called Isan. The province was established by the revolutionary council of Field Marshal Thanom Kittika ...

. She studied medicinal plants in the district and helped form the "Natural Medication and Herb Interest Group" there. Rosana worked for many years as a

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

activist for the Thai Health Foundation, calling for the resignation of Rakkiat Sukthana on corruption charges. She also called for the resignation of Purachai Piumsomboon over a supposed cover-up of the spread of

bird flu "Bird Flu" is an urumee melam-dance song by recording artist M.I.A. on her second studio album '' Kala'' (2007). It was released as a digital download in 2006 through XL Recordings under exclusive license to Interscope Records in the US. Cr ...

in Thailand. She represented a coalition of over 30 NGOs in an appeal against a government plan to establish special economic zones around Thailand. She is an Independent candidate in the 2022 Bangkok gubernatorial election.but not elected

Religious views

Rosana Tositrakul has stated she has no political leanings. Instead, she advocates what she calls an "engaged" form of

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

feminism.

Royal decorations

*2014 - Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class)

Order of the White Elephant __NOTOC__ The Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant ( th, เครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันเป็นที่เชิดชูยิ่งช้างเผือก; ) is an order (decoration), orde ...

. *2022 - Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class)

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 ...

. *2015 -

Order of the Direkgunabhorn 4th class (Thailand) ribbon

Companion (Fourth Class)

Order of the Direkgunabhorn __NOTOC__ The Most Admirable Order of the Direkgunabhorn ( th, เครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันเป็นที่สรรเสริญยิ่งดิเรกคุณาภรณ์; ) was establi ...

.The Royal Thai Government Gazette
ประกาศสำนักนายกรัฐมนตรี เรื่อง พระราชทานเครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันเป็นที่สรรเสริญยิ่งดิเรกคุณาภรณ์ ประจำปี 2558
เล่ม 132 ตอนที่ 32 ข หน้า 27, 4 ธันวาคม 2558

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tositrakul, Rosana 1957 births Living people Rosana Tositrakul Rosana Tositrakul Rosana Tositrakul Rosana Tositrakul Rosana Tositrakul