Suwat Liptapanlop ( th, สุวัจน์ ลิปตพัลลภ, , ; born 9 February 1955 in Ratchaburi Province) is a Thai

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and sports official based in

Nakhon Ratchasima Nakhon Ratchasima ( th, นครราชสีมา, ) is one of the four major cities of Isan, Thailand, known as the "big four of Isan". The city is commonly known as Korat (, ), a shortened form of its name. It is the governmental seat of ...

. He has held different cabinet posts in several governments since 1988, including

deputy prime minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

, and is the ''de facto'' leader of the Chart Pattana Party while his brother Tewan Liptapallop serves as its official leader.

Family and education

Suwat Liptapanlop's parents were traders of

Chinese descent Overseas Chinese () refers to people of Chinese birth or ethnicity who reside outside Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. Terminology () or ''Hoan-kheh'' () in Hokkien, ref ...

. They sold on a

floating market A floating market is a market where goods are sold from boats. Originating in times and places where water transport played an important role in daily life, most floating markets operating today mainly serve as tourist attractions, and are chie ...

in Ratchaburi Province. Later, the family moved to Bangkok, became involved in the transportation of construction material and then founded their own construction business. Suwat's father was an associate of General

Arthit Kamlang-ek Arthit Kamlang-ek (31 August 1925 – 19 January 2015; th, อาทิตย์ กำลังเอก, ) was a Thai general. He was the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army from 1982 to 1986 and parallel the Supreme Commander of the Roy ...

, from 1982 to 1986 commander-in-chief of the Thai army. He provided the Liptapanlops' company with military construction contracts. Most of the projects were in the province of Nakhon Ratchasima (Khorat), so the company and family that were responsible for building infrastructure and hospitals won considerable influence there. Suwat Liptapanlop holds a Bachelor of Science in

Civil Engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

from

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. I ...

in Bangkok and a Master of Science from

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

in the US state of Indiana. After returning to Thailand, he worked as a project manager in an engineering company.

Political career

In 1988, he entered politics as a member of General Arthit's Thai People's Party. In his Nakhon Ratchasima constituency, he could even defeat prime minister-to-be

Chatichai Choonhavan Chatichai Choonhavan ( th, ชาติชาย ชุณหะวัณ, , ; 5 April 1920 – 6 May 1998) was a Thai army officer, diplomat and politician. From 1986 to 1991, he was the chairman of the Thai Nation Party and served as the Prim ...

. Nevertheless, the Thai People's Party joined Chatichai's government coalition and Suwat was made deputy minister of communication and transport. After the 1991 coup d'état, the military junta (

National Peace Keeping Council The National Peace Keeping Council (NPKC) ( th, คณะรักษาความสงบเรียบร้อยแห่งชาติ) was the name assumed by a Thai military junta that overthrew the elected civilian government of Cha ...

) appointed him to their legislative assembly. In March 1992 he ran for the

Justice Unity Party The Justice Unity Party ( th, พรรคสามัคคีธรรม, ) was a Thai pro-military and conservative political party established after the military coup d'état of 1991. It was founded by Narong Wongwan, who became party chairma ...

, but before the snap election in September of the same year, he defected to the National Development Party. He became the secretary-general and main financial backer of this party. Also in 1992, the government provided Suwat's firm with a lucrative contract to upgrade the " Friendship Highway". From 1994 to 1995, he was Minister of Science under

Chuan Leekpai Chuan Leekpai ( th, ชวน หลีกภัย, , ; ; born 28 July 1938) is a Thai politician who is the current President of the National Assembly of Thailand as well as the incumbent Speaker of the Thai House of Representatives. Previous ...

, from 1996 to 1997 Minister of Transport under

Chavalit Yongchaiyudh Chavalit Yongchaiyudh ( th, ชวลิต ยงใจยุทธ, , ; born 15 May 1932), also known as "Big Jiew" (, , ), is a Thai politician and retired army officer. From 1986 to 1990 he was the Commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army ...

, and from 1998 to 2000

Minister of Industry The industry minister is a cabinet position in a government. The title may refer to the head of the governmental department that specializes in industry. This position may also be responsible for trade and employment, areas that fall under the mini ...

in the second government of Chuan Leekpai. In the cabinet 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 ...

, Suwat was Minister to the Office of the Prime Minister and Minister of University Affairs from March to October 2002, subsequently

Minister of Labour Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

until November 2003. In 2003, he replaced

Korn Dabbaransi Korn Dabbaransi ( th, กร ทัพพะรังสี, , alternatively transcribed as Thapparangsi or ''Dabaransi'', ; born 14 September 1945) is a Thai politician. He was the leader of the National Development Party from 1998 to 2003. Korn ...

as chairman of the shortly oppositional National Development Party. After re-joining the government, he was Deputy Prime Minister from June 2004 to March 2005. Then, he joined Thaksin's

Thai Rak Thai Party The Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT; th, พรรคไทยรักไทย, , ; "Thais Love Thais Party") was a Thai political party founded in 1998. From 2001 to 2006, it was the ruling party under its founder, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawat ...

and served as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

until August 2005, and then again Deputy Prime Minister until September 2006. When the Supreme Tribunal dissolved the Thai Rak Thai Party in 2007, it banned its 111 party executives, including Suwat, from politics for five years. Therefore, he does not hold a party office in the 2007-established Ruam Chart Pattana Party (''Chart Pattana'' after a renaming in 2011), but acts as its "chief adviser" and ''de facto'' leader. The official chairman is his brother-in-law

Wannarat Channukul Wannarat Channukul ( th, วรรณรัตน์ ชาญนุกูล, ; born 8 March 1949 in Nakhon Ratchasima) is a Thai physician and politician. He is the leader of the Chart Pattana Puea Pandin Party. From 2008 to 2011, he was Minist ...

. Suwat's wife, Lt Gen Poonpirom Liptapanlop, served as Minister of Energy in 2008.

Activities

In 2009, Suwat Liptapanlop was elected vice president of the

National Olympic Committee A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...

of Thailand for a four-year term. Moreover, he is the president of the

Lawn Tennis Association of Thailand The Lawn Tennis Association of Thailand (LTAT) ( th, ลอนเทนนิสสมาคมแห่งประเทศไทย) is the national governing body of tennis in Thailand, formed in 1926 it is one of the oldest organised sports go ...

and a member of the board of directors of the

International Tennis Federation The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the governing body of world tennis, wheelchair tennis, and beach tennis. It was founded in 1913 as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by twelve national tennis associations. As of 2016, there a ...

for the period 2011-13. He was the president of the local organising committee for the

2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup The 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup was the seventh FIFA Futsal World Cup, the quadrennial international futsal championship contested by the men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It took place from 1 to 18 November 2012 in Thailand ...

in Thailand. Since 2011, Liptapanlop has served on the Leadership Council for Concordia, a nonpartisan, nonprofit based in New York City focused on promoting effective public-private collaboration to create a more prosperous and sustainable future.

Eponyms

Paleontology

In honour of Mr. Suwat Liptapanlop's support and promotion of the work done by the Northeastern Research Institute of Petrified Wood and Mineral Resources, a newly discovered carcharodontosaurid theropod dinosaur, '' Siamraptor suwati'', was named after him. '' Siamraptor'' is the best preserved carcharodontosaurian theropod in Southeast Asia, and it sheds new light on the early evolutionary history of

Carcharodontosauria Allosauroidea is a superfamily or clade of theropod dinosaurs which contains four families — the Metriacanthosauridae, Allosauridae, Carcharodontosauridae, and Neovenatoridae. Allosauroids, alongside the family Megalosauroidea, were among t ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liptapanlop, Suwat Living people 1955 births Suwat Liptapanlop Suwat Liptapanlop Suwat Liptapanlop Suwat Liptapanlop Suwat Liptapanlop Suwat Liptapanlop Purdue University alumni Suwat Liptapanlop Suwat Liptapanlop Suwat Liptapanlop Suwat Liptapanlop Suwat Liptapanlop Suwat Liptapanlop Suwat Liptapanlop