Kowit Wattana ( th, โกวิท วัฒนะ; born 11 March 1947 in Phak Hai) is a Thai Police General and politician. From 2004 to 2007 he was the Commissioner-General of the

Royal Thai Police The Royal Thai Police (RTP) ( th, สำนักงานตำรวจแห่งชาติ; ) is the national police force of Thailand. The RTP employs between 210,700 and 230,000 officers, roughly 17 percent of all civil servants (excludi ...

. In 2008, he was Minister of the Interior, and from 2011 to 2012 Deputy Prime Minister under

Yingluck Shinawatra Yingluck Shinawatra ( th, ยิ่งลักษณ์ ชินวัตร, , ; ; born 21 June 1967), nicknamed Pou ( th, ปู, , , meaning "crab"), is a Thai businesswoman, politician and a member of the Pheu Thai Party who became the Pri ...

. Kowit is a member of the ruling

Pheu Thai Party The Pheu Thai Party (PTP; th, พรรคเพื่อไทย, lit=For Thais Party, , ) is the third incarnation of a Thai political party founded by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The Pheu Thai Party was founded on 20 Septemb ...

Early life and police service

Kowit Wattana's father was a teacher and prefect of

Phak Hai District Phak Hai (, ) is a district (''amphoe'') in the northwestern part of Ayutthaya province, central Thailand. History Historically, the district was named ''Khwaeng'' Sena Yai, which became converted to an ''amphoe'' at the end of the 19th century ...

. Kowit graduated from the

Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School The Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School or AFAPS (Thai: โรงเรียนเตรียมทหาร) is a senior high school in Nakhon Nayok Province. It is a flagship institution of the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters. The ...

(class 6) and the Royal Thai Police Cadet Academy (class 22). He started his career in public service as an officer of the

Border Patrol Police The Border Patrol Police ( th, ตำรวจตระเวนชายแดน); (BPP) is a Thai paramilitary police under the jurisdiction of the Royal Thai Police, responsible for border security and counterinsurgency. History The Thai Bo ...

. He served in this paramilitary unit for 27 years. From 1970 to 1975 he was on the Border Patrol Police special company fighting the communist insurgency in Thailand. Later he commanded the troops responsible for a section of the Thai- Burmese border. Later he was leader of the Border Patrol Police in the whole northern sector. In this position his main challenges were fighting

drug-related crime A drug-related crime is a crime to possess, manufacture, or distribute drugs classified as having a potential for abuse (such as cocaine, heroin, morphine and amphetamines). Drugs are also related to crime as drug trafficking and drug productio ...

, shutting down several

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

factories in

Chiang Mai Chiang Mai (, from th, เชียงใหม่ , nod, , เจียงใหม่ ), sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second largest city in ...

Chiang Rai Chiang Rai ( th, เชียงราย, ; nod, , เจียงฮาย, ) is the northernmost major city in Thailand, with a population of about 200,000 people. It is located in Mueang Chiang Rai District, Chiang Rai Province. Chiang Rai ...

Phayao Phayao () is a city (''thesaban mueang'') in northern Thailand, capital of Phayao Province. For administrative purposes the city is divided into 15 sub-districts (''tambons''), which are further subdivided into 172 administrative villages. The t ...

and

Mae Hong Son Mae Hong Son ( th, แม่ฮ่องสอน, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in north-west Thailand, capital of Mae Hong Son Province. It is in the Shan Hills, near the border with Burma along the banks of the River Pai. As of 2018, the to ...

, and

counter-insurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the activities of guerrillas or revolutionar ...

. In 1994, he was promoted to national commander of the Border Patrol. In 2004, he was named Commissioner-General of the

Political career

Following the 2006 coup d'état, Kowit was named third chief deputy of the

Council for Democratic Reform under Constitutional Monarchy The Council for National Security ( th, คณะมนตรีความมั่นคงแห่งชาติ; ) or CNS ( th, คมช.), formerly known as the Council for Democratic Reform ( th, คณะปฏิรูปการป ...

. On 22 September, the council gave Police General Wattana absolute power over all police matters. He was also made Chair of a new National Police Commission. The commission will be assigned to amend the 2004 National Police Bill over the next year; the bill had been originally been approved by the elected parliament. Under the pre-coup legal framework, the premier had been responsible for chairing the commission. So far, two members of the new police commission have been announced, Pol Gen Phatcharawat Wongsuwan and Pol Gen Issaraphan Sanitwong. He was replaced by

Seripisut Temiyavet Police General Sereepisuth Temeeyaves ( th, เสรีพิศุทธ์ เตมียเวส; , originally: Seri Temeeyaves; th, เสรี เตมียเวส; born 3 September 1948) was Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police ...

in 2007. There was speculation about the motivation behind the replacement, as Kowit had earlier arrested several military personnel for alleged involvement in the 2006 Bangkok New Year's Eve bombings. On 2 August 2008, Kowit Wattana was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, replacing Chalerm Yubamrung for the latter position. On 24 September 2008, Kowit was appointed Minister of Interior in

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 ...

's cabinet, serving until the government broke apart on 2 December 2008. He is an executive member of the

, successor of the dissolved and banned People's Power Party. In September 2010 he was expected to replace

Yongyuth Wichaidit Yongyuth Wichaidit ( th, ยงยุทธ วิชัยดิษฐ; born July 15, 1942 in Surat Thani) is a Thai politician (Pheu Thai Party). He is the younger brother of Democrat politician Thawat Wichaidit. Early life and education Yongyu ...

as the party's chairman, but he demurred and asked Yongyuth to carry on. On 9 August 2011, Kowit was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in

's cabinet. He resigned from the office due to a major reshuffle of the Yingluck cabinet on 18 January 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wattana, Kowit

Kowit Wattana Kowit Wattana ( th, โกวิท วัฒนะ; born 11 March 1947 in Phak Hai) is a Thai Police General and politician. From 2004 to 2007 he was the Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police. In 2008, he was Minister of the Interior, a ...

Living people

1947 births