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 (PPP) whose political rights were disenfranchised by the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) for five years. Prior to entering electoral politics, he had served civil service and judicial service, having been appointed Permanent Secretary of Justice (the highest non-elected position in the civil service) in 2000 by the 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 ...

. Following his retirement from office in 2006 owing to the pensionable age, he entered politics after the 2006 coup unseating the government of his

brother-in-law A sibling-in-law is the spouse of one's sibling, or the sibling of one's spouse, or the person who is married to the sibling of one's spouse.Cambridge Dictionaries Online.Family: non-blood relations. More commonly, a sibling-in-law is referre ...

, Thaksin Shinawatra. He joined the PPP which won the December 2007 parliamentary elections, becoming Minister of Education and Senior Deputy Prime Minister. After the premiership of

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 ...

had been terminated by the ConCourt for contravening the

conflict of interests A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations in ...

law, Somchai was successfully nominated Prime Minister. His government had to deal with the

2008 Thailand political crisis 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

as well as the

global financial crisis of 2008 Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...

, and the PPP was eventually dissolved by the ConCourt and its executive members, including Somchai, were prohibited from politics for five years for vote-buying committed by Yongyuth Tiyapairat.

Family life

Somchai was born at

Amphoe Chawang Chawang ( th, ฉวาง, ) is a district (''amphoe'') of Nakhon Si Thammarat province, southern Thailand. Geography Neighboring districts are (from the northeast clockwise): Phipun, Lan Saka, Chang Klang, Na Bon, Thung Yai, and Tham Pha ...

, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, a son of Mr. Choem and Mrs. Dap (Sutsai) Wongsawat. He is a brother-in-law of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and former prime minister

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 ...

, having married their sister Yaowapha. The couple have three children, Mr. Yotchanan Wongsawat, Ms. Chinnicha Wongsawat and Mrs. Chayapha Nam. Somchai's wife Yaowapha previously served as an MP in the Thai Rak Thai Party led by her older brother, Thaksin Shinawatra. Like one hundred and ten other members of the party, she was banned from participating in politics for a five-year period by the order of the Constitutional Tribunal because of the party's violation of election laws.

Education

Somchai completed his

primary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/ kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in '' primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or ...

in his home town, and his

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final ph ...

Amnuay Silpa School Amnuay Silpa School ( th, โรงเรียนอำนวยศิลป์; ) is a coeducational private school in Bangkok, Thailand. It teaches kindergarten, primary and secondary levels. The school was founded in 1926, formerly as an all-b ...

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 ...

. He received a bachelor of law from

Faculty of Law, Thammasat University The Faculty of Law, Thammasat University ( th, คณะนิติศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยธรรมศาสตร์; ) is an administrative agency of the Thai government, being an academic faculty attached to ...

in 1970, becoming a

barrister-at-law A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and g ...

of the Thai

Bar Association A bar association is a professional association of lawyers as generally organized in countries following the Anglo-American types of jurisprudence. The word bar is derived from the old English/European custom of using a physical railing to se ...

in the next three year. He achieved his

master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

Public Administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment ( public governance), management of non-profit es ...

from the

National Institute of Development Administration The National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) th, สถาบันบัณฑิตพัฒนบริหารศาสตร์) is a public graduate university in Thailand under the Commission on Higher Education, the Mini ...

in 2002.

Career

Public service

Somchai has been appointed to various offices in the juridical service and the civil service, including ''inter alia'': assistant judge of the Ministry of Justice in 1974, ministerial justice in the next year, justice of

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 ...

's Provincial Court in 1976, justice of Chiang Mai in 1978, justice of

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 ...

in 1983, chief of the Bench of

Phang Nga Phang Nga ( th, พังงา, , ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in southern Thailand, capital of Phang Nga Province. The town covers the whole ''tambon'' Thai Chang of Mueang Phang Nga district. As of 2005 it had a population of 9,559 and ...

's Provincial Court in 1986, chief of the Children and Juvenile Court of

Rayong Rayong ( th, ระยอง, ) is a city (''thesaban nakhon'') on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand and the capital of Rayong province. It covers tambons Tha Pradu and Pak Nam and parts of ''tambons'' Choeng Noen and Noen Phra, all within ...

in 1987, chief of

Chon Buri Chonburi ( th, ชลบุรี, , IAST: , ) is the capital of Chonburi Province and Mueang Chonburi District in Thailand. It is about 100 km southeast of Bangkok, on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand. Its name means 'city of water'. Chonb ...

's Provincial Court in 1988 and of

Nonthaburi Nonthaburi ( th, นนทบุรี, ) is the principal city of the district and province of the same name in Thailand. On 15 February 1936, Nonthaburi town municipality (''thesaban mueang'') was established, which only covered Suan Yai ...

's Provincial Court in the next year, and chief of the Bench of Thon Buri's Criminal Court in 1990, respectively. Somchai held office as judge of the 3rd Region's Appealate Court in 1993 and chief of the Bench of the 2nd Region's Appealate Court in 1997. In 1998 Somchai was appointed as the Deputy

Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior civil servant of a department or ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are the non-political civil ...

of Justice for Academic Affairs, and later for Administrative Affairs. He became the Permanent Secretary of Justice on 11 November 2000, and was transferred to become the Permanent Secretary of Labor from 8 March to 30 September 2006, the date he retired from the public service after reaching pensionable age. Somchai has been since appointed ''inter alia'' chairperson of the law committee of the National Research Council of Thailand, member of the Thai Bar Association's committee, member of the Board of Thailand's Electricity Generation Authority, member of the Board of the Narcotics Prevention and Suppression Board, member of the

Money Laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdicti ...

Prevention and Suppression Board, member of the committee of the Council of State of Thailand, member of the Board of Policy of the National Thai Police, member of the Civil Service Board of Thailand, member of the Juridical Service Board of Thailand, and member of the National Official Information Board of Thailand.

Premiership

A member of the People Power Party, he was the deputy leader of the Party in 2007 and held office as the Minister of Education in the Next Year and Senior Deputy Prime Minister. Somchai became the prime minister on 9 September 2008, upon the Constitutional Court's decision that the premiership of

had been terminated for his having worked as the emcee of two cooking shows while in office, in violation of the law forbidden government ministers from holding any other paid employment. On 17 September 2008, Somchai was elected prime minister of the country by the National Assembly, receiving 298 favourable votes, more than the 163 votes for Abhisit Vejjajiva. King

Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej ( th, ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช; ; ; ( Sanskrit: ''bhūmi·bala atulya·teja'' - "might of the land, unparalleled brilliance"); 5 December 192713 October 2016), conferred with the title King Bhumibol the Grea ...

issued a Royal Proclamation appointing Somchai as the 26th Prime Minister on 18 September 2008.

Siege

On 7 October 2008, anti-government protesters attempted to hold 320 parliamentarians and senators hostage inside the Parliament building, cutting off power. Somchai Wongsawat escaped by climbing a rear fence after his policy address. Other legislators were trapped inside. The 6-week sit-in and

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

on the area next to the prime minister's office led the government to transfer its activities temporarily to Don Muang. Eventually, Somchai authorised the police to use force against the demonstrations. Thousands were injured, some seriously, and two protestors died, one a young woman; both were killed by exploding police gas grenades, which also maimed a number who lost limbs.

Investigation

On 29 September, Thailand's Election Commission spokesman Ruangrote Jomsueb said a subcommittee would investigate Somchai (30 days probe, to the Constitutional Court) per

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Ruangkrai Leekijwattanaon's complaint on "whether Somchai violated the constitution by holding shares in Thailand's CS LoxInfo PCL, an Internet service provider that is a contract partner of

CAT Telecom CAT Telecom Public Company Limited ( th, บริษัท กสท โทรคมนาคม จำกัด (มหาชน)) is the state-owned company that runs Thailand’s international telecommunications infrastructure, including its ...

, a state-owned telecommunications service provider." The Thai constitution bars parliament members from holding shares in companies that do business with state enterprises, and if found guilty, Somchai would be disqualified as parliament member and ousted as prime minister.

Neglected duty and removal

On 17 October, Thailand's anti-corruption body found Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat guilty of neglecting his duties while working in the justice department eight years ago. Members of the National Counter Corruption Commission said Somchai was wrong to suspend a corruption investigation into two senior officials while he was a permanent secretary at the justice ministry in 2000. The NCCC's investigation followed a complaint lodged by senior judge Chamnan Rawiwanpong after he petitioned for an investigation into alleged corruption involving a land sale in Pathum Thani province in 2000. After the petition, Somchai set up a disciplinary panel, accusing Chamnan of serious wrongdoing and recommending he be fired, prompting Chamnan to make the counter-complaint.

Somchai Cabinet

The Cabinet was active from 18 September 2008 – 2 December 2008.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Wongsawat, Somchai 1947 births

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 (PPP) whose polit ...

Living people

Recipients of the Order of the Sun of Peru