SOMCHAI WONGSAWAT ELECTED AS THAILAND'S NEXT PRIME

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 002810

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/17/2018
TAGS: PGOV PINR KDEM TH
SUBJECT: SOMCHAI WONGSAWAT ELECTED AS THAILAND'S NEXT PRIME
MINISTER, BUT FOR HOW LONG?

REF: A. BANGKOK 2800 (BANHARN PRAISES SOMCHAI)

B. BANGKOK 2791 (PPP ENDORSES SOMCHAI)

C. BANGKOK 2616 (RULINGS DELIVER BLOWS)

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Classified By: Ambassador Eric G. John, reason: 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (U) The House of Representatives elected Somchai Wongsawat
as Thailand's next Prime Minister in a September 17 vote
along partisan lines. Somchai received the support of his
People's Power Party (PPP) and the other members of the
governing coalition that had backed his predecessor, Samak
Sundaravej, while Democrat Party (DP) legislators voted for
DP Party Leader Abhisit Vejjajiva. Somchai received 298
votes, Abhisit received 163, and five MPs abstained.
PM-elect Somchai will likely receive royal endorsement within
a few days and be inaugurated with a cabinet of his choosing
a few days after that.


2. (C) Comment: The immediate problem that Somchai will face
upon assuming office is what to do about the People's
Alliance for Democracy (PAD),which remains illegally
encamped at Government House, the formal seat of government,
and continues to publicly reject the leadership of any PPP
figure. In his current acting PM capacity, Somchai has
authorized reconfiguration of Don Muang Airport facilities
for temporary use by the Cabinet, and he appears unlikely to
take a confrontational approach toward the PAD (see his
biography, below). Not seen as a strong-willed personality,
Somchai's ability to lead an administration, exert authority
over the security forces, and maintain harmony in his
increasingly factionalized party is unproven. With PPP
facing possible dissolution by the Constitutional Court in
the next six months (see ref C),few expect his
administration to be long-lived even if Somchai proves
capable. Somchai may lead Thailand into 2009, but his term
could conceivably end before the new year. End Comment.


3. (C) Legal processes involving Somchai's brother-in-law,
former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, continued to move forward.
With Thaksin remaining abroad in the U.K., the Supreme Court
Justices presiding over his trial for abuse of power (in
connection with his wife's purchase of real estate) on
September 17 delayed rendering their verdict until October
21, giving Thaksin 30 days to appear voluntarily in court,
normal Thai legal procedure when defendents do not appear in
person. The Supreme Court also issued another arrest warrant
for Thaksin September 16, based on his failure to attend
proceedings related to separate charges that Thaksin abused
his power in connection with Thai Ex-Im Bank loans to Burma.


4. (C) Post offers the following biographic information on
Somchai:

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BEGIN BIOGRAPHY
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SOMCHAI WONGSAWAT

(Phonetic: SOME-chai WOHNG-sah-wat)

Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand

(U) The House of Representatives elected Somchai Wongsawat as
Thailand's 34th Prime Minister on September 17, 2008.
Somchai entered party politics with his appointment as a
Deputy Leader of the People's Power Party (PPP) when the
party was founded in mid-2007. He was elected to the House
of Representatives in December 2007 on the PPP party list for
Region One, which encompassed provinces in northern Thailand.
Somchai served concurrently as Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of Education under Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej
from February until September 2008.

(U) Somchai began his career as an Associate Judge in the
Ministry of Justice in 1974. In 1976, he began serving as a
Judge on Chiang Mai's Provincial Court, then moved to Chiang

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Rai's Provincial Court in 1983. In 1986, he began serving as
Chief Justice, first on Phang Nga's Provincial Court, then on
the Rayong Juvenile Court (1987),the Chonburi Provincial
Court (1988),the Nonthaburi Provincial Court (1989),and the
Thonburi Criminal Court (1990). In 1993 he began serving as
a Judge on a regional Court of Appeals; four years later, he
became Chief Justice of another regional Court of Appeals.

(U) In 1998, Somchai became the Justice Ministry's Deputy
Permanent Secretary for Academic Affairs. In 1999, he became
Deputy PermSec for Administrative Affairs for a short time.
In November 1999, he was elevated to the position of
Permanent Secretary. Administrative restrictions on the
length of service of a Permanent Secretary led to his
transfer to the Labor Ministry, where he became Permanent
Secretary in March 2006. He resigned in the aftermath of the
September 2006 coup d'etat, which deposed his brother-in-law,
then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

(U) Somchai is married to Yaowapa Wongsawat, a younger sister
of Thaksin who is widely seen as the faction leader for
northern MPs in parties supportive of Thaksin. Yaowapa
formerly served as a member of parliament and an executive of
the Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT); she lost her political rights
for a five-year period when the TRT was dissolved in May 2007
by the Constitutional Court but continues to wield influence
within the PPP. The couple has two daughters, Chinnicha and
Chayapa, and one son, Yotthanan. Chinnicha is a member of
the House of Representatives, representing Chiang Mai
province.

(U) Somchai was born on August 31, 1947. He graduated from
Thammasat University's Faculty of Law in 1970 and from the
National Defense College in 1996.

(C) Embassy interlocutors have found Somchai to have an
unimposing presence. Many Thai politicians have publicly
characterized him as "gentle" and soft-spoken. He appears
moderately fluent in English.

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END BIOGRAPHY
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JOHN