Abhisit Vejjajiva

Abhisit Vejjajiva
MPCh MWM
อภิสิทธิ์ เวชชาชีวะ
Abhisit in 2010
27th Prime Minister of Thailand
In office
17 December 2008 – 5 August 2011
MonarchBhumibol Adulyadej
Deputy
See list
Preceded byChavarat Charnvirakul (acting)
Succeeded byYingluck Shinawatra
Leader of the Opposition
In office
16 September 2011 – 8 December 2013
Prime MinisterYingluck Shinawatra
Succeeded bySompong Amornwiwat (2019)
In office
23 April 2005 – 17 December 2008
Prime Minister
Preceded byBanyat Bantadtan
Member of the House of Representatives
for the Democrat Party List
In office
6 January 2001 – 5 June 2019
Member of the House of Representatives
for Bangkok
In office
22 March 1992 – 9 November 2000
Constituency
Leader of the Democrat Party
In office
6 March 2005 – 24 March 2019
Preceded byBanyat Bantadtan
Succeeded byJurin Laksanawisit
Minister to the Office of the Prime Minister
In office
14 November 1997 – 17 February 2001
Prime MinisterChuan Leekpai
Preceded by
  • Sampan Lertnuwat
  • Phusana Preemanoch
  • Pitak Intrawityanunt
Succeeded by
Personal details
Born
Mark Abhisit Vejjajiva

(1964-08-03) 3 August 1964 (age 60)
Newcastle upon Tyne, England[1][2]
Citizenship
  • England
  • Thailand
Political partyIndependent
Other political
affiliations		Democrat (1992–2023)
SpousePimpen Vejjajiva
Children2[3]
Alma materSt John's College, Oxford
Ramkhamhaeng University
Signature

Abhisit Vejjajiva MPCh MWM (pronunciationⓘ; Thai: อภิสิทธิ์ เวชชาชีวะ, RTGS: Aphisit Wetchachiwa, Thai pronunciation: [ʔà.pʰí.sìt wêːt.tɕʰāː.tɕʰīː.wáʔ] ⓘ; born 3 August 1964) is a Thai politician who was the 21st prime minister of Thailand from 2008 to 2011. He was the leader of the Democrat Party[4] from 2005 until he resigned following the party's weak performance in the 2019 election. As leader of the second largest party in the House of Representatives, he was also leader of the opposition – a position he held from 2005 to 2008 and again after his premiership until his party's en masse resignation from the House on 8 December 2013.[5] Abhisit is the last prime minister neither coming from the military nor being related to the Shinawatra family to date.

Born in England to Thai parents, Abhisit also holds British citizenship. He attended Eton College and earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Oxford.[6] After his graduation he taught as an economics lecturer at Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy and Thammasat University. Abhisit was elected to the Thai House of Representatives at the age of 27 and served as minister to the Office of the Prime Minister under Chuan Leekpai from 1997 to 2001. He narrowly lost the 2003 Democrat Party leadership election, but unopposedly became the party's chairman two years later following the Democrats' defeat in the 2005 general election.[7]

Abhisit was appointed prime minister of Thailand on 17 December 2008, after the Constitutional Court of Thailand removed Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat from office.[8][9] At age 44, he was the country's youngest prime minister in more than 60 years.[10]

Abhisit became premier during the Great Recession and rising domestic political tensions.[11] As prime minister, he promoted a "People's Agenda", which focused primarily on policies affecting the living conditions of Thailand's rural and working class citizens.[12] He administered two economic stimulus packages: a US$40 billion, three-year infrastructure improvement plan, and a more than US$3 billion program of cash subsidies and handouts.[13] By 2010, the stock market and the value of the baht had rebounded to their highest levels since the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Human Rights Watch called Vejjajiva "the most prolific censor in recent Thai history" and Freedom House downgraded Thailand's rating of media freedom to "not free".[14][15] Abhisit also advocated for stronger anti-corruption measures, although several members of his Cabinet resigned due to corruption scandals and parts of his economic stimulus packages were criticised for instances of alleged corruption.

Abhisit's government faced major protests in April 2009 and April–May 2010. The military's crackdowns on protesters left many dead.[16][17] Abhisit launched a reconciliation plan to investigate the crackdown, but the work of the investigation commission was hampered by military and government agencies.[18] The Thai Army clashed with Cambodian troops numerous times from 2009 to 2010 in the bloodiest fighting in over two decades.[19] The South Thailand insurgency escalated during Abhisit's government, and reports of torture and human rights violations increased.

Having resigned the party leadership after the defeat the Democrats suffered in the parliamentary elections of 2011, Abhisit was re-elected as leader at a party assembly.

In 2018, the Democrats held a contest for party leader in preparation for the upcoming election. Abhisit was re-elected party leader, beating former PDRC leader, Warong Dechgitvigrom, by approximately 10,000 votes.[20] However, after a poor showing in the 2019 election, Abhisit resigned as party leader.[21][22]

  1. ^ Powell, Sian (15 December 2008). "British-born Abhisit Vejjajiva is Thailand's new Prime Minister". The Times. UK.[dead link‍]
  2. ^ Percival, Jenny (15 December 2008). "Thai opposition leader becomes PM". The Guardian. UK. Archived from the original on 22 January 2009. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
  3. ^ The Nation, Abhisit, Chuan's young protege gets his turn at last Archived 19 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
  4. ^ "Thailand parliament chooses economist as prime minister". Los Angeles Times. 15 December 2008. Archived from the original on 18 February 2009. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
  5. ^ "Abhisit resigns as MP after Democrats back Prayut as PM". Retrieved 1 May 2023 – via www.bangkokpost.com.
  6. ^ "Profile: Thailand's new Eton educated prime minister". Telegraph. 15 December 2008. Archived from the original on 18 January 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
  7. ^ "Thailand leader to form one-party government". The New York Times. 8 February 2005. Archived from the original on 26 May 2014.
  8. ^ "Thailand's prime minister ousted after weeks of protests". The Daily Telegraph. 2 December 2008. Archived from the original on 3 December 2008.
  9. ^ "Abhisit Vejjajiva endorsed as Thailand's new prime minister by King". Xinhua News Agency. 17 December 2008. Archived from the original on 21 December 2008.
  10. ^ "Talking politics with Thailand's PM". CNN. 18 December 2008. Archived from the original on 23 December 2008.
  11. ^ "Class War in Thailand". Korea Times. 17 April 2009. Archived from the original on 20 April 2009.
  12. ^ Global Asia, People's Agenda: The Way Forward for Thailand, Volume 2, Number 2, Fall 2007
  13. ^ Forbes, Thai Prime Minister Extolls Economic Turnaround, 24 September 2010
  14. ^ Human Rights Watch, Thailand: Authorities Silence 'Red Shirt' Community Radios, 27 April 2011
  15. ^ "Level of Thai press freedom downgraded: Kingdom dropped 14 places in world rankings". Bangkok Post. 5 April 2011. Archived from the original on 19 July 2012.
  16. ^ "Abhisit: Corruption root of problems". Bangkok Post. 17 June 2010. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  17. ^ "Thai Leader Offers Reconciliation Plan". The New York Times. 10 June 2010. Archived from the original on 25 August 2014.
  18. ^ "One year on, truth about crackdown remains elusive". Bangkok Post. 21 April 2011. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012.
  19. ^ "Thai, Cambodian troops clash on disputed border, 6 dead". Yahoo! News. Reuters. 22 April 2011.[dead link‍]
  20. ^ "Abhisit Wins Democrat Party Leadership". Khaosod English. 10 November 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  21. ^ "Former Thai PM Abhisit resigns as head of Democrats after election loss - Channel NewsAsia". Archived from the original on 24 March 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  22. ^ "Former Thai PM Abhisit resigns as head of Democrats after election loss". 24 March 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2023 – via www.reuters.com.