Boonchu Rojanastien ( th, บุญชู โรจนเสถียร; , Chinese: 黃聞波, Huang Wenbo born January 20, 1921, Chon Buri Province,

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 b ...

, died March 19, 2007,

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in 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 estimated populati ...

)Influential banker, politician dead at 86
Bangkok Post, 2007-03-20. was a Thai banker. Touted as Thailand's first "economics tsar", he served in the government of

Kukrit Pramoj Mom Rajawongse Kukrit Pramoj ( th, คึกฤทธิ์ ปราโมช, , ; 20 April 1911 – 9 October 1995) was a Thai politician, scholar and professor. He was Speaker of the House of Representatives of Thailand 1973–1974. He was t ...

in 1975 and 1976. During his tenure as finance minister, he initiated a policy of "ngern phan" (money allocation), which distributed several billion

baht The baht (; th, บาท, ; sign: ฿; code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand. SWIFT ranked the Thai baht as the 10th-m ...

of government funds to 5,000

tambon ''Tambon'' ( th, ตำบล, ) is a local governmental unit in Thailand. Below district ('' amphoe'') and province ('' changwat''), they form the third administrative subdivision level. there were 7,255 tambons, not including the 180 '' khwaen ...

, or local government, councils.Boonchu, first 'economic tsar', dies
The Nation, 2007-03-20. His

populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...

policies would later be embraced under the administration 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, ...

Early life and business career

Boonchu was the eldest of five children born to a

Thai Chinese Thai Chinese (also known as Chinese Thais, Sino-Thais), Thais of Chinese origin ( th, ชาวไทยเชื้อสายจีน; ''exonym and also domestically''), endonym Thai people ( th, ชาวไทย), are Chinese descenda ...

carpenter of Hainanese origin in Chon Buri Province. He married Renu Rojanastien, and had two children Krip Rojanastien and Ora Rojanastien. He excelled at school and entered

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 ...

, graduating with a degree in accounting. He then opened his own accounting firm, and shortly after that joined

Bangkok Bank Bangkok Bank Public Company Limited ( th, ธนาคารกรุงเทพ, RTGS: Thanakhan Krung Thep) is one of the largest commercial banks in Thailand. Its branch network includes over 1,165 branches, As of September 2018 within Thail ...

. He eventually became president of the bank, from 1977 to 1980,History of Bangkok Bank
and led the institution through expansion and the establishment of branches across Thailand.

Political career

He became involved in politics in 1973 under the administration of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Sanya Dharmasakti. Boonchu was appointed a senator and he played a role in drafting the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

in 1974. He joined

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 Pram ...

and was elected as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

from

Prachin Buri Province Prachinburi province ( th, ปราจีนบุรี, , ) is one of Thailand's seventy-seven provinces (''changwat''), it lies in eastern Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from north clockwise) Nakhon Ratchasima, Sa Kaeo, Chachoengsao, a ...

. This was during the short reign of

Seni Pramoj Mom Rajawongse Seni Pramoj ( th, หม่อมราชวงศ์เสนีย์ ปราโมช, , ; 26 May 190528 July 1997) was three times the Prime Minister of Thailand, a politician in the Democrat Party, lawyer, diplomat and pr ...

, who was succeeded by his brother,

. Under Kukrit, Boonchu served as deputy prime minister and finance minister, and he initiated his populist "ngern phan" program of doling out billions of baht to local governments. He left politics in 1983 and returned to banking, serving as chairman of Siam City Bank, only to return to politics in 1986 as the head of the Kijprachakhom Party. The party later consolidated with other parties to form the Ekaphap Party, of which Boonchu served as deputy. He later led the

Palang Dharma Party The Palang Dharma Party ( th, พรรคพลังธรรม, ; translated as "power of Dharma", or "moral force", PDP for short) was a Buddhist-inspired political party in Thailand founded by Chamlong Srimuang in 1988, associated with the ...

. Boonchu eventually joined the Democrat Party and served as a cabinet member and then adviser to the first government of

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. Previou ...

. "The future of a political party hinges on its policies. Any inappropriate policies will just simply fade away," was Boonchu's famous motto. Boonchu left politics in 1998 after serving on the House Budget Committee.Long-time economic czar dies of leukemia
, MCOT, 2007-03-19.

Later years

Boonchu's family weathered the 1997 East Asian financial crisis. He then started the Chiva-Som International Resort and Spa in

Hua Hin Hua Hin ( th, หัวหิน, ) is one of eight districts (''amphoe'') of Prachuap Khiri Khan province in the northern part of the Malay Peninsula in Thailand. Its seat of government, also named Hua Hin, is a beach resort town. The district ...

, which at its peak, became one of the best Resort and Spa and was awarded the top resort and spa of the world. He suffered from

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

, and was treated at Vichaiyudh Hospital in

, where he died on March 19, 2007.

References

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