NEW THAI CABINET FILLED WITH PRO-THAKSIN FIGURES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 BANGKOK 000409 SIPDIS SIPDIS NSC FOR PHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/07/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR KDEM TH SUBJECT: NEW THAI CABINET FILLED WITH PRO-THAKSIN FIGURES REF: BANGKOK 276 (BIO OF SAMAK) BANGKOK 00000409 001.2 OF 004 Classified By: Ambassador Eric G. John, reason: 1.4 (b) and (d). -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) The cabinet inaugurated on February 6 is largely made up of figures with close ties to deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Most of the representatives of the People's Power Party's coalition partners are relegated to less influential positions, even though many of them also have had relatively recent ties to Thaksin or his Thai Rak Thai party. The new Foreign Minister served as Thaksin's lead lawyer and spokesman after the 2006 coup d'etat. The Interior Minister is a former Police officer with a checkered reputation. The Justice Minister is a veteran politician who was ONE of Thaksin's Trade Representatives. Prime Minister Samak serves concurrently as Defense Minister. Septel will report on the new economic team. Cabinet members appear to have been selected primarily for political loyalty, rather than technocratic abilities, but we currently reserve judgment on their ability to govern effectively. End Summary. -------------- CABINET FILLED WITH THAKSIN ALLIES -------------- ¶2. (C) The cabinet inaugurated on February 6 consists primarily of allies of deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. People's Power Party (PPP) figures control most of the key positions relating to Thaksin's core interests -- security and judicial processes. Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, the PPP Party Leader, serves concurrently as Defense Minister. Chalerm Yoobamrung, ONE of the most prominent PPP campaigners in the 2007 election, is Interior Minister. PPP senior advisor Somphong Amornwiwat is Justice Minister. Thaksin's spokesman and lead lawyer, Noppadol Pattama, was appointed as Foreign Minister -- a position highly relevant to Thaksin's interests, given that Thaksin remains overseas. (Noppadol said publicly in recent days that Thaksin intends to return to Thailand around May.) Brief biographic sketches of these figures and selected others begin in paragraph 6. Reftel offers a profile of Samak. Septel will report on the new economic team. ¶3. (C) Of the 36 cabinet members (including Prime Minister Samak),22 are affiliated with the People's Power Party (PPP),which portrayed itself as the sole pro-Thaksin party in the political spectrum. Six of the cabinet members -- a mix representing PPP and other parties -- are close family members of former Thai Rak Thai (TRT) executives who are currently ineligible to hold political office. ONE of these six, Deputy Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, is the husband of Thaksin's sister, Yaowapa. ¶4. (C) Of the 14 non-PPP cabinet members, six are relegated to Deputy Minister positions. Seven of the 14 non-PPP cabinet members have prior experience as TRT legislators or cabinet members, or are close family members of former TRT figures. While some of the former TRT-affiliated figures have broken publicly with Thaksin in the past, the only group of cabinet members that has a credible record of independence from TRT is the Chart Thai block, which holds positions in Agriculture, Transportation, Tourism, and a Deputy Prime Ministership. (Even Chart Thai was in coalition with TRT from 2001-2005.) Para 12 provides a complete list of cabinet members and their positions. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶5. (C) During the Thaksin era, most senior TRT politicians BANGKOK 00000409 002.2 OF 004 and close associates of the Prime Minister held positions on the executive board of the ruling Thai Rak Thai party. The Constitutional Tribunal's May 2007 dissolution of that board -- which disenfranchised all TRT executives for five years -- left Thaksin's camp with a dearth of talent to draw upon for this cabinet. Given the current climate, it is not surprising that Thaksin's camp places a high premium on loyalty, even if this results in some cabinet members lacking a record of administrative excellence. For the moment, however, we will reserve judgment on the cabinet's ability to govern. End Comment. -------------- BIOGRAPHIC SKETCHES OF SELECT MINISTERS -------------- DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER SOMCHAI WONGSAWAT -------------- ¶6. (C) Somchai graduated from Thammasat University's law school in 1970 and served as a judge from 1974 until 1998, when he became Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Justice Ministry; he moved up to Permanent Secretary in 1999. Regulations limiting service in top positions forced him to move over to become Permanent Secretary of the Labor Ministry in early 2006 -- a position he lost after the September 2006 coup d'etat. He won election to the House of Representatives as a PPP candidate in December 2007. He is married to Yaowapa, the sister of deposed PM Thaksin. Somchai is the first Deputy Prime Minister, meaning that he will act as Prime Minister in Samak's absence. He serves concurrently as Education Minister. DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER SANAN KHACHONPRASAT -------------- ¶7. (C) Major General (ret.) Sanan, born in 1935, rose up in the ranks of the Army before entering politics. He first ran for election (unsuccessfully) in 1979 as a Democrat Party candidate; he won election in 1983, and chaired the House Committee on Military Affairs. In 1986 he became a Deputy Leader of the Democrat Party, and he began serving in a string of cabinet positions, including Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Industry, Minister of Interior, and Deputy Prime Minister. In 2000, he was found guilty in Constitutional Court proceedings of concealing assets and falsifying reports, and he lost his right to hold political office for a five-year period. In 2005, he played a key role in directing the newly-formed Mahachon Party, which flopped in elections that year. In October 2007, Sanan and his political allies abandoned Mahachon and joined the Chart Thai Party. He is married and has three children. FOREIGN MINISTER NOPPADOL PATTAMA -------------- ¶8. (C) Noppadol is a lawyer who holds an LL.M. degree from London University, where he studied with the prestigious status of a "King's Scholar." He also holds an LL.B. from Oxford University. He has a law firm, "Noppadol and Associates International Law Office." He entered politics in 1992, after then-Democrat Party Leader Chuan Leekpai appointed him to work on a House Committee, even though he did not hold a seat in the House. He won election as a Democrat Party candidate in Bangkok in 1996, and he served as Secretary to Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan. He failed to SIPDIS win election after 2001, and in May 2006 he quit the Democrat Party and joined Thai Rak Thai. In June 2006 he became Vice Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs. He lost this position after the September 2006 coup d'etat. He subsequently became deposed Prime Minister Thaksin's spokesman and lead lawyer. He became Deputy Secretary General of the People's Power Party and won election to the House of Representatives in December 2007. He is unmarried. INTERIOR MINISTER CHALERM YOOBAMRUNG BANGKOK 00000409 003.2 OF 004 -------------- ¶9. (C) Chalerm became a Police Sergeant in 1964, after completing his secondary education. After gradually rising through the ranks, he became a Captain in 1976. He left the Police in 1981, after he was charged with involvement in the April 1981 attempted coup d'etat. In the 1990's, he received Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Ramkhamhaeng University; he later received a doctoral degree from Ramkhamhaeng. He first won a seat in the House of Representatives in 1983, when he ran as a Democrat Party candidate. In 1985, he left the Democrat Party and formed the Muan Chon party, serving as Party Leader. He first served in the cabinet in 1988 as Minister attached to the Prime Minister's Office. He later served as Deputy Education Minister, Deputy Interior Minister, and Justice Minister. His political career was interrupted in 1991, when he fled after the coup d'etat and sought political asylum in Denmark. He ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Bangkok in 2004. He won election to the House of Representatives in 2007 as a People's Power Party candidate. He has a reputation as an outspoken, aggressive politician. He also is suspected of having been involved in corrupt activities during his time as a Police officer and as a politician. JUSTICE MINISTER SOMPHONG AMORNWIWAT -------------- ¶10. (C) Somphong, born in 1941, first won election to the House in 1986; for most of his political career, he has represented Chiang Mai. He served as Advisor to the Prime Minister from 2001-2005, and then as ONE of four Thai Trade Representatives (covering the Middle East, Africa, and Europe) from 2005-2006. He studied at the Technical University of Berlin and Curry College in Massachusetts. His wife's family owns the Thai Amarit Brewery. He has four children and speaks English well. MINISTER ATTACHED TO PM'S OFFICE JAKRAPOB PENKAIR -------------- -------------- ¶11. (C) Jakrapob, born in 1967, received a Bachelor's degree in international relations from Chulalongkorn University and a Master's degree in International Economics from Johns Hopkins University. He began his career working for the Charoen Pokphan conglomerate but then moved over to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He resigned to work in media, hosting radio and television programs. He became a government spokesman in 2003 and later Deputy Secretary General to the Prime Minister. Jakrapob ran unsuccessfully for election to the House as a TRT candidate in 2005 and ¶2006. He was a leading figure in the pro-Thaksin United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) in the period following the 2006 coup d'etat and was briefly detained following a violent demonstration outside the residence of Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda. He speaks English fluently. Because of his previous work in the diplomatic corps, he was widely rumored to be slated to become Deputy Foreign Minister before the 2007 cabinet was formed. -------------- COMPLETE CABINET LIST -------------- ¶12. (U) The cabinet consists of the following members (not necessarily in ranked order): Prime Minister and Defense Minister Samak Sundaravej Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Somchai Wongsawat Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Mingkhwan Saengsuwan Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Surapong Suebwonglee Deputy Prime Minister Sahat Banditkul Deputy Prime Minister Sanan Kachornprasart Deputy Prime Minister and Industry Minister Suwit Khunkitti BANGKOK 00000409 004.2 OF 004 Minister of Foreign Affairs Noppadol Pattama Minister of Justice Somphong Amornwiwat Minister of Energy Poonpirom Liptapanlop Minister of Labor Uraiwan Thienthong Minister of Culture Anusorn Wongwan Minister of Information and Communications Technology Mun Patthanothai Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment Anongwan Thepsuthin Minister of Social Development and Human Security Sutha Chansaeng Minister of Tourism and Sports Weerasak Kowsurat Minister of Science and Technology Wuthipong Chaisaeng Minister of Interior Chalerm Yoobamrung Minister of Transportation Santi Prompat Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Somsak Pritsanananthakul Minister of Public HEALTH Chaiya Sasomsap Minister Attached to the PM's Office Choosak Sirinil Minister Attached to the PM's Office Jakrapob Penkair Deputy Minister of Interior Supol Fong-ngam Deputy Minister of Interior Sitthichai Khowsurat Deputy Minister of Finance Pradit Pattharaprasit Deputy Minister of Finance Ranongrak Suwannachawee Deputy Minister of Commerce Wirun Techapaiboon Deputy Minister of Commerce Banyin Tangpakorn Deputy Minister of Transportation Songsak Thongsri Deputy Minister of Transportation Anurak Chureemas Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Somphat Kaewpijit Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Theerachai Saenkaew Deputy Minister of Education Boonlue Prasertsopa Deputy Minister of Education Pongsakorn Unnopporn Deputy Minister of Public HEALTH Chawarat Chanveerakul JOHN