Somchai Wongsawat

Somchai Wongsawat
Somchai Wongsawat
สมชาย วงศ์สวัสดิ์
	Somchai in 2008
26th Prime Minister of Thailand
	In office; 18 September 2008 – 2 December 2008
Monarch	Bhumibol Adulyadej
Preceded by	Samak Sundaravej
Succeeded by	Chavarat Charnvirakul (acting)
Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand
	In office; 6 February 2008 – 9 September 2008
Prime Minister	Samak Sundaravej
Minister of Defence
	In office; 24 September 2008 – 2 December 2008
Prime Minister	himself
Preceded by	Samak Sundaravej
Succeeded by	Prawit Wongsuwan
Minister of Education
	In office; 6 February 2008 – 9 September 2008
Prime Minister	Samak Sundaravej
Preceded by	Wijit Srisa-arn
Succeeded by	Srimuang Chareonsiri
Leader of the People's Power Party ; Acting
	In office; 30 September 2008 – 2 December 2008
Preceded by	Samak Sundaravej
Succeeded by	party dissolved; Yongyuth Wichaidit (as Leader of the Pheu Thai Party; de facto)
Personal details
Born	31 August 1947 (age 77); Chawang, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Siam (now Chang Klang, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand)
Political party	Pheu Thai (until 2024)
Spouse	Yaowapha Shinawatra
Children	3
Relatives	Thaksin Shinawatra (brother-in-law); Yingluck Shinawatra (sister-in-law)
Alma mater	Thammasat University; National Institute of Development Administration;
Signature
	^ a: Acting: 9–18 September 2008;

Somchai Wongsawat (Thai: สมชาย วงศ์สวัสดิ์, pronounced [sǒm.tɕʰāːj wōŋ.sā.wàt] ^ⓘ; born 31 August 1947) is a Thai politician who was the prime minister of Thailand in 2008 and a former executive member of the People's Power Party (PPP) whose political rights were disenfranchised by the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) for five years.

Prior to entering electoral politics, he had served civil service and judicial service, having been appointed Permanent Secretary of Justice (the highest non-elected position in the civil service) in 2000 by the government of Chuan Leekpai. Following his retirement from office in 2006 owing to the pensionable age, he entered politics after the 2006 coup unseating the government of his brother-in-law, Thaksin Shinawatra. He joined the PPP which won the December 2007 parliamentary elections, becoming Minister of Education and Senior Deputy Prime Minister. After the premiership of Samak Sundaravej had been terminated by the ConCourt for contravening the conflict of interests law, Somchai was successfully nominated Prime Minister. His government had to deal with the 2008 Thailand political crisis as well as the 2007–2008 financial crisis, and the PPP was eventually dissolved by the ConCourt and its executive members, including Somchai, were prohibited from politics for five years for vote-buying committed by Yongyuth Tiyapairat.

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