Somsak Thepsuthin ( th, สมศักดิ์ เทพสุทิน; born 13 January 1955) is a Thai politician. he serves 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 ...

in the second cabinet of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Life and education

Somsak was born and raised in Sukhothai Province and later attended Amnuay Silpa School in Bangkok. He completed a Bachelor of Engineering from King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang and a master's degree in political science (public administration) from

Thammasat University Thammasat University ( 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 Grand Pala ...

. He was elected Member of Parliament representing Sukhothai Province's first constituency for the first time in 1983. A member of the

Social Action Party The Social Action Party ( th, พรรคกิจสังคม, ) was a political party in Thailand. History The Social Action Party was formed by the more liberal members of the Democrat Party in 1974 under the leadership of Kukrit Pramo ...

, he was confirmed in every election until 2001.

Political careers

He served as deputy minister of public health in

Suchinda Kraprayoon Suchinda Kraprayoon ( th, สุจินดา คราประยูร, ; born 6 August 1933) is a Thai retired army general and politician. As the commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army (1990–1992) he led the 1991 Thai coup d'état ...

's cabinet from April to May 1992 (during Black May). From September 1992 to September 1993 he served as deputy minister of transport and communication 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 ...

and again from September 1996 to October 1997 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 ...

. Subsequently, he was shortly Minister of Public Health under the same prime minister until the government's resignation in the following month. In the second government of Chuan Leekpai, Somsak was the Minister of Industry from November 1997 to October 1998. Having switched to

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 ...

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 ...

(TRT), Somsak was elected to the House of Representatives on the TRT party-list in the 2001 general election, while his wife Anongwan Thepsuthin succeeded him as MP for the first constituency of Sukhothai Province. In Thaksin's government that came into office in September 2001, Somsak first served as Minister to the Office of the Prime Minister, before switching to the Ministry of Industry in October 2002 and the Ministry of Agriculture in November 2003. In Thaksin's second government, Somsak held the office of Minister of Tourism and Sports from March to August 2005 and subsequently Minister of Labour until the 19 September 2006 ''coup d'état''. Being a member of the TRT party's executive committee, Somsak was barred from holding political office for five years upon the dissolution of the party by the Constitutional Court. Nevertheless, he founded the ''Matchima'' ("neutral") group, that first merged into

Sanoh Thienthong Sanoh Thienthong ( th, เสนาะ เทียนทอง, born 1 April 1934) is a Thai politician. He is a Member of Parliament for the Pheu Thai Party list. Before he joined the Pheu Thai Party in 2011, he was the leader of the minor Prac ...

Pracharaj Party The Royal People Party ( th, พรรคประชาราช, ) is a populist political party in Thailand. The party was established and registered at the Electoral Commission on February 10, 2006, by Sanoh Thienthong, former Thai Rak Thai p ...

before separating and becoming the

Neutral Democratic Party The Neutral Democratic Party (''Phak Matchima Thippathai'', พรรคมัชฌิมาธิปไตย) was a Thai political party founded in 2006 by Somsak Thepsuthin, a former Thai Rak Thai party Cabinet Minister. The party had a sim ...

(NDP) in October 2007. As Somsak was officially barred, his wife Anongwan became the party's secretary-general. The party won seven constituency seats in the December 2007 general election and joined the government coalition led by People's Power Party (PPP) and

Samak Sundaravej Samak Sundaravej ( th, สมัคร สุนทรเวช, , ; 13 June 1935 – 24 November 2009) was a Thai politician who briefly served as the Prime Minister of Thailand and Minister of Defense in 2008, as well as the leader of the Peo ...

. In Samak's government and that of his successor

Somchai Wongsawat Somchai Wongsawat ( th, สมชาย วงศ์สวัสดิ์, ; born 31 August 1947) is a Thai politician who was the prime minister of Thailand in 2008 and a former executive member of the People's Power Party (Thailand), People ...

, Anongwan Thepsuthin served as Minister of Natural Resources and Environment from February to December 2008. The Constitutional Court dissolved the Neutral Democratic Party together with its coalition partners PPP and

Thai Nation Party Thai Nation Party, or Chart Thai Party ( th, พรรคชาติไทย, ) was a conservative political party in Thailand. It was dissolved by the Constitutional Court of Thailand on December 2, 2008, along with the People's Power Party and ...

for election fraud on 2 December 2008.

References

Living people 1955 births

Somsak Thepsuthin Somsak Thepsuthin ( th, สมศักดิ์ เทพสุทิน; born 13 January 1955) is a Thai politician. he serves as Minister of Justice in the second cabinet of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Life and education Somsak was ...

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