NEW INTERIM CABINET AND SELECT BIOS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BANGKOK 006203

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR TH
SUBJECT: NEW INTERIM CABINET AND SELECT BIOS

REF: BANGKOK 6080


1. (U) Interim PM Surayud Chulanont announced his cabinet
over the weekend and received the King's royal endorsement on
October 9. Dubbed the "cabinet of old men," the 26-member
interim cabinet have been tasked to improve Thailand's image
abroad. They are as follows:

Deputy PM and Finance Minister: Pridiyathorn DEVAKULA
Deputy PM and Industry Minister: Kosit PANPIEMRAS
Minister to PM's Office: Tipawadee MEKSAWAN
Minister to PM's Office: Thirapat SERIRANGSAN
Minister of Defense: General Boonrawd SOMTHAS
Minister of Foreign Affairs: Nitya PIBULSONGRAM
Minister of Commerce: Krirkkrai JIRAPAET
Minister of Energy: Piyasvasti AMRANAND
Minister of Interior: Ari WONG-ARAYA
Minister of Transportation: Adm. Thira HAOCHAROEN
Minister of Justice: Chanchai LIKHITJITTA
Minister of Labor: Apai CHANTHANAJULAKA
Minister of Agriculture: Theera SUTABU
Minister of Education: Wijit SRISA-ARN
Minister of Culture: Khaisri SRI-AROON
Minister of Science and Tech: Yongyuth YUTHAWONGSE
Minister of Public Health: Mongkol NA SONGKHLA
Minister of Environment: Kasem SANITWONG NA AYUTTHAYA
Minister of Information Tech: Sitthichai POKAI-UDOM
Minister of Tourism and Sports: Suwit YODMANEE
Minister of Social Development: Paibool WATANASIRITHAM
Deputy Foreign Minister: Chaowanit KONGSIRI
Deputy Interior Minister: Banyat CHANSENA
Deputy Transport Minister: Sansern WONGCHA-RUN
Deputy Industry Minister: Piyabutr CHOLWICHARN


2. (U) Bios for select interim ministers are listed below.
Reftel provides bio background on economic ministries.
Septel provides initial analysis of the new cabinet.


3. (SBU) GENERAL BOONRAWD SOMTHAS - INTERIM DEFENSE
MINISTER: Born November 17, 1941.

A former classmate of PM Surayud (Armed Forces Preparatory
School (Class 1),CRMA (Class 12)),Boonrawd served as
Surayud's Chief of Staff when Surayud became the Army
Commander-in-Chief (CINC) from 2000-01. He served as the
Chief of Staff for the Royal Thai Supreme Commander from 2001
until he reached the mandatory retirement age of sixty a year
later. It is unclear what Boonrawd has been doing since
retirement.

Experience:

Few details are known about Boonrawd's early career other
than he volunteered for Special Forces training in the late
1960s along with Surayud and a few other Class 12 classmates.

October 1989 - March 1991 -- Commander of the First Special
Forces Regimen, First Special Force Division, Royal Thai Army
(RTA).

April 1991 - March 1992 -- Aide to the Minister of Defense.
April 1992 - September 1993 -- Commander of the Second
Special Forces Division, RTA.
October 1993 - September 1995 -- Deputy Commander of the RTA
Special Warfare Command.
October 1995 - March 1996 -- Expert attached to the
Headquarters (HQ) RTA.
April 1996 - September 1997 -- Senior Specialist Attached to
HQ RTA as Lt. General.
October 1997 - March 1999 -- Assistant Chief of Staff for
Intelligence, RTA.
April 1999 - September 2000 -- Deputy Chief of Staff, RTA.
October 2000 - September 2001 -- Chief of Staff, RTA.
October 2001 - September 2002 -- Chief of Staff, Royal Thai
Supreme Command.
Retired from active duty September 30, 2002.

Promotions:

Major General -- April 1991
Lt. General -- May 1996
Full General -- October 2000

He worked on the Khmer Resistance with both RTA Special
Forces (1980s) with the Special Warfare Command First Special
Forces Division (with Surayud) and later as the Chief of RTA
Special Operations Element 315. Boonrawd was a long-time
Embassy contact. He has been considered pro-American,
although he had also maintained close personal connections to

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French military and commercial business contacts.


4. (SBU) NITYA PIBULSONGRAM -- INTERIM FOREIGN MINISTER:
Born June 30, 1941.

Former Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(and career diplomat who once served as the Thai Ambassador
to the US),Nitya was Chief Negotiator for the Thailand-US
FTA from July 2004 to January 2006. After his retirement
from the Foreign Service in September 2001, he was appointed
as Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Surakiart
Sathirathai) and served in the post until January 2005. He
was named Advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister (Surakiart
Sathirathai) in March 2005 and remained in this position
until the end of the second Thaksin Administration in early

2006.

Prior to his MFA Permanent Secretary term (February 2000 to
September 2001),Nitya served as Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary to the United States (1996-2000),Permanent
Representative of Thailand to the United Nations (1988-1996),
and Director-General of the Department of International
Organizations of the MFA (1983-1987). He was appointed to
the Deputy Director-General of the Information Department in
1980, and a year later switched to the Deputy
Director-General of the Department of Political Affairs. He
was once appointed ambassador-at-large in the Foreign
Ministry, in charge of special political issues. He began
his career in Thailand's Foreign Service in 1968.

Born in Bangkok, Nitya received his BA in Government from
Dartmouth College and his MA in Political Science from Brown
University. He is married to Pacharin (Patricia) Osmond.


5. (SBU) ARI WONG-ARAYA -- INTERIM INTERIOR MINISTER: Born
February 1935.

Born a Muslim in Bangkok, Ari obtained his BA in Political
Science from Chulalongkorn University in 1959, a MS in
Community Development and Certificate of Presidential
Assistant in Community Development from University of the
Philippines (College of Agriculture at Los Banos),and a MS
in Public Administration from University of Missouri
(Columbia). He also attended the National Defense College,
Class 27.

Ari began his career in Ministry of Interior as a police
constable in 1960 before moving to Department of Community
Development in 1962, to which he became Director of
Operations in 1969. From 1976 to 1984, Ari was governor to
Satun, Saraburi, Prachinburi, and Suphanburi provinces. Ari
was appointed the Deputy Interior Perm.-Sec. twice--in 1988
and 1991. He was Director-General of Land Department in 1990,
and named the Interior Perm.-Sec. in 1993 before his
retirement in 1996.

Ari,s rise to higher ranks was attributed by some to his
wide connections with politicians. Ari is said to be close
to the ex-PM Gen. Chawalit Yongchaiyut and the ex-PM Banhan
Sinlapa-acha; he does not enjoy a good relationship with the
Democrat Party. He is reportedly favored by the Crown Prince.

In October 2004, Ari joined Thaksin Shinawatra,s first
administration as the Deputy Education Minister. He served
in that post until March 2005. He resigned from the
Thai-Rak-Thai (TRT) Party shortly after his tenure in
Thaksin,s cabinet to become the President of the Islamic
Bank of Thailand, but encouraged his son, Ekkaphot, to enter
politics under the TRT ticket in 2005. His son was elected
as a MP from Bangkok in 2005 and remains in the TRT today.
Ari is also a Board Member of the Central Islamic Committee
of Thailand.


6. (SBU) CHANCHAI LIKHITJITTA -- INTERIM JUSTICE MINISTER:
Born April 25, 1946.

Chanchai graduated from Ban Somdet Chaophaya Teachers,
College (currently known as Rajabhat University) in
education, and later received an LL.B. (Hons.) from Thammasat
University (1969). He also received a Barrister-at-Law from
the Institute of Legal Education, the Thai Bar in 1971.
Chanchai was a career judge to the Court of Justice. He has
climbed up through the ranks until becoming President of the
Supreme Court of Justice in October 2005 before reaching his
retirement in September 2006. His significant posts in the
past included Presiding Judge of the Civil Court, Justice of
the Court of Appeal, Justice of the Supreme Court, Chief
Justice of the Juvenile and Family Division of the Court of
Appeal, Presiding Justice of the Supreme Court, and Vice

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President of the Supreme Court.
After his retirement, Chanchai was appointed to his current
post as Senior Judge to the Thongburi District Civil Court.


7. (SBU) ADM THIRA HAOCHAROEN - INTERIM TRANSPORTATION
MINISTER: Born April 6, 1940

Admiral Thira is not well-known to the embassy. At this
point, we are able to provide only the following background:

Educational Background
1963 -- Naval Academy, Royal Thai Navy (RTN)
1975 -- Naval Staff College, Royal Thai Navy
1982 -- Naval Command College, Naval War College -- US
1990 -- Naval War College, Royal Thai Navy
1994 -- National Defense College

Career

1975- -Commanding Officer, HTMS. Chang
1978- -Aide-de-Camp to the Commander-in-Chief
1984- -Staff Officer to the Commander-in-Chief
1986- -Thai Naval Attache -- Washington D.C.
1990- -Chief, Naval Secretariat
1992- -Deputy Commandant, Naval Academy
1993- -Commandant, Naval War College
1994- -Assistant Chief of Staff for Logistics
1995- -Deputy Chief of Staff
1996- -Chief of Staff
1997- -RTN Deputy Commander-in-Chief
1998- -RTN Commander-in-Chief
ARVIZU