Surachate Hakparn: The rollercoaster career of Thailand’s most famous policeman
Deputy National Police chief Pol General Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn sounds surprisingly cheerful given that his high-flying career has just plunged into another crisis. It’s as if he were trying to...
View ArticleProf Chaiyan Chaiyaporn: The maverick academic defending Thailand’s royal...
Professor Chaiyan Chaiyaporn has become a hero for royalists after winning the latest legal battle over Thailand’s much-disputed history. Chaiyan, a senior political science lecturer at Chulalongkorn...
View ArticleSamana Bodhirak: Ascetic leader of Santi Asoke at vanguard of political...
Samana Bodhirak will be remembered as the spiritual leader who founded the Santi Asoke Buddhist sect but never shied away from political upheavals that have shaped Thailand for the past four decades....
View ArticleVishnu Varunyou: The would-be Supreme Court chief trapped in political...
The first nominee for Supreme Administrative Court president to be rejected by the Senate, Vishnu Varunyou faces an uncertain future at the top court that he first joined over two decades ago. On April...
View ArticleJiraporn Sindhuprai: Child of the red-shirt movement and rising star of Pheu...
Jiraporn Sindhuprai, a fast-rising political star from a famous red-shirt family, has been promoted to the Cabinet as the new PM’s Office minister, in Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s first government...
View ArticlePichit Chuenban: Shinawatra lawyer in the dock after promotion to Cabinet
Known as the Shinawatra family’s most trusted lawyer, Pichit Chuenban has now been appointed to the Pheu Thai-led government despite lingering doubts over his eligibility for political office. Critics...
View ArticleUdom ‘Nose’ Taepanich: Dividing Thailand with a joke
Stand-up comedian Udom “Nose” Taepanich has again ignited controversy with a joke, this time drawing fury from conservatives and royalists. In his “Deaw Special: Super Soft Power” show now streaming on...
View ArticlePhumtham Wechayachai: Champion of Yingluck Shinawatra rides into rice battle
Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai has become increasingly belligerent towards critics questioning his claim that the last 15,000 tonnes of decade-old rice from the Yingluck Shinawatra government’s...
View ArticleNarong Kittikachorn: Last of the ‘three tyrants’ unrepentant to the end
Colonel Narong Kittikachorn, the last of the “three tyrants” who ruled Thailand with an iron fist from 1963 to 1973, died on May 14 at the age of 90. Narong was part of a dictatorship headed by his...
View ArticleNetiporn Sanesangkhom: From conservative schoolgirl to courageous democracy...
Daughter to a judge and sister of a lawyer, detained activist Netiporn Sanesangkhom, aka Bung Thalu Wang, died at just 28 years of age on May 14. An autopsy is ongoing, but Netiporn’s untimely death...
View ArticleThe return of Wissanu Krea-ngam, legal savior for leaders in trouble
Last week’s appointment of former deputy premier Wissanu Krea-ngam as the prime minister’s legal adviser surprised many observers, given Wissanu’s documented health issues and earlier pledge to leave...
View ArticleSakulthorn Juangroongruangkit: Brother of reform leader in hot water over...
The younger brother of Progressive Movement leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit was last month sentenced to six months in prison for bribery, despite claiming to be a victim in the case. Businessman...
View ArticleVatana Asavahame: Fugitive ‘Godfather of Pak Nam’ retains political power...
Defying his advanced years, exile and legal status, 87-year-old fugitive former deputy interior minister Vatana Asavahame is still playing an influential role in Thai politics. “The Asavahame family...
View ArticleChaiwat Satha-Anand: Professor of nonviolence who opened path to peace in...
Professor Chaiwat Satha-Anand spent over four decades – almost his entire career as a political scientist at Thammasat University – advocating nonviolence and peacebuilding to settle conflicts....
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