Everything about Surakiart Sathirathai totally explained
Surakiart Sathirathai (born
June 7,
1958,
Bangkok) was, until September 19 2006, a Deputy Prime Minister of
Thailand overseeing Foreign Affairs, Education and Culture.
Family and early career
Surakiart grew up in Bangkok. His father was an official in the Thai Ministry of Finance and mother was a Professor in French literature at
Chulalongkorn University. He graduated with a First Class (Valedictorian) degree in law from Bangkok’s
Chulalongkorn University. He earned two masters degrees, a Masters in Law (LL.M.) from
Harvard Law School with a thesis on human rights and another in law and diplomacy
(M.A.L.D) from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. Surakiart was the first Thai to earn a doctorate in law from Harvard Law School. His doctoral thesis, “An Understanding of the Relationship Among International Legal Discourse About Development, Third World Countries, and International Peace,” (1985) explored the global trade law regime from the perspective of the third world. He later co-edited
Third World Attitudes Toward International Law: An Introduction (1987) and authored various articles on law and development including "Peace and Security: The Challenge and the Promise", 41 Texas International Law Journal 513 (2006). From the late 1980s until the late 1990s, Surakiart taught in the Faculty of Law at Chulalongkorn University and ultimately became Dean.
Career in Thai politics
In
1995, Dr. Surakiart became Thailand’s youngest
Finance Minister under
Prime Minister Banharn Silapa-Archa. Surakiart's supporters maintain that although he inherited a national economy beset by structural challenges that ultimately exposed it to the Thai financial crisis, Dr. Surakiart designed and implemented reforms that, while deeply unpopular, moved the economy in the right direction and have become an essential part of Thailand's economic policy. Nevertheless, he resigned less than a year after his appointment over his handling of the collapse of the
Bangkok Bank of Commerce.
(External Link
)
After his tenure at the Finance Ministry, Surakiart went on to serve as Vice-Chairman of the Advisory Council on Economic and Foreign Affairs under Prime Minister
Chavalit Yongchaiyudh until
1997. Following that, he was President of the Institute of Social and Economic Policy (ISEP), a
think tank, from 1997 to 2001. In the late 1990s, Surakiart led several major Thai corporations through restructurings and bankruptcy proceedings, and founded and chaired a major Bangkok law firm.
In 2001, Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra appointed Dr. Surakiart as
Minister of Foreign Affairs, a position he held until early 2005 when he became
Deputy Prime Minister. As Foreign Minister, Surakiart sought to promote regional economic development through various cooperative networks, including Ayeyarwaddy-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) and the
Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD). As Deputy Prime Minister and Acting Minister of Culture, Surakiart now oversees the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Education, and Culture.
On 2 October, 2006, he becomes an independent politician by resigning from his last political party
Thai Rak Thai following the
coupe d'tat of Thailand.
(External Link) His intention in this political exodus is still unknown but the military junta of Thailand has announced to continue supporting his bid for UN top job.
Campaign to become UN Secretary General
The Royal Thai Government has nominated Dr. Surakiart as Thailand’s candidate for
United Nations Secretary-General when
Kofi Annan completes his term at the end of 2006. Many other nations, including the members of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have pledged to support Dr. Surakiart’s bid. He is also rumored to have the backing of
China, a permanent member of the Security Council. Surakiart's candidature may be adversely affected by the controversial policies of Thaksin Shinawatra, who's relations with the military junta in Myanmar and handling of unrest in the predominantly Muslim south of the country are particularly contentious. Most notably, the
Asian Human Rights Commission is campaigning against Surakiart on account of Thailand's policy toward Burma.
(External Link) However, Surakiart's supporters contend that he spear-headed Thailand's "prosper thy neighbor" policy of regional economic coordination and that his quiet diplomatic style have helped resolve numerous long-standing regional disputes.
The Secretary General is appointed by the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the Security Council. To be elected, a candidate to the post needs 9 votes from the Security Council, including those of all 5 permanent members. The General Assembly then holds a vote; two-thirds of Member States need to support the candidacy for the Secretary General to be appointed. The US administration has emphasized the importance of management skills in any candidate, regardless of nationality, and is looking for someone with the experience to deliver reform at the United Nations.
Straw poll results
In July 2006 a straw poll was held among the UNSG candidates and Dr. Surakiat placed third, behind
Ban Ki Moon from South Korea and
Shashi Tharoor from India. Surakiart scored 7 encouragements, 3 discouragements, and 5 no opinions. Ban scored 12-1-2 and Tharoor scored 10-2-3.
(External Link)
In a second September 14 straw poll, Surakiart gained some ground, scoring 9 encouragements, 3 discouragements, and 3 no opinions. However, he still scored third behind
Ban and
Tharoor. Ban scored 14-1-0 and Tharoor scored 10-3-2.
In a straw poll held on September 28, however, Surakiart fell into fourth place, winning only 5 encouragments, 7 discouragements and 3 no opinions. The entry of additional candidates, including former
Lativan President
Vaira Vike-Freiberga, into the race, combined with the
military coup that took place only weeks before the poll, were likely causes of Surakiart's loss of support.
South Korea's foreign minister won the support of the Security Council's five permanent members in an informal vote on the next UN secretary general held on 3 October 2006. Ban Ki-moon was the only one of six candidates to escape a veto in the informal ballot. The poll is non-binding but, barring a major surprise, correspondents say Mr Ban looks set to take the top role. The formal vote will take place on 9 October 2006.
Jayanama Family's Opposition to Campaign
Opposition to Surakiart has been especially vocal among the Jayanama family of Thai diplomats. In a mass rally in front of thousands of anti-Thaksin protesters, former ambassador to the UN
Asda Jayanama noted "Because we've a weak foreign minister who responded to Thaksin as if he were his servant, we've been unable to solve any problems".
(External Link). Asda also claimed that Surakiart Sathirathai parked his car outside the official residence of UN secretary-general at night so he could see it. "It's very embarrassing," Asda told the crowd.
(External Link) The former diplomat blasted Surkiart's candidacy as a lost cause and an embarrassment for Thailand's international standing, claiming that it was "silly" to believe that handshakes from 127 countries amounted to formal endorsements.
(External Link) He has also publicly called Surakiart “a third rate politician”,
(External Link) "clumsy", "bungling",
(External Link)and "lacking a brand name".
(External Link).
Surakiart responded by accusing Asda of defaming him, and threatened to file a defamation suit if he didn't stop attacking him in public.
(External Link).
While Foreign Minister, Surakiart transferred Asda's younger brother
Surapong Jayanama to become ambassador to Germany (from Director General of the East Asia Department of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs). He also transferred Asda's younger brother
Apipong Jayanama to become head of the Institute of Foreign Affairs (from Director General of the Department of American and South Pacific Affairs). Some have speculated that Asda's opposition to Surakiart might stem from these events
(External Link).
During his term as Foreign Minister, it was often alleged that Dr. Surakiart was in complicity with international pedophile and prostitution rings to traffic Thai children to foreign countries. He was repeatedly accused of covering up for pedophiles in the Foreign Ministry and to have embezzled from the government through sham child protection schemes in order to finance his campaign for the UN's top post.
Personal life
In keeping with Thai tradition, Dr. Surakiart spent a period as a monk in a Buddhist monastery. He is married to Thanpuying Dr.
Suthawan Sathirathai, a niece to the
Queen, who holds several advanced degrees including a doctorate in
Land Economy from the
University of Cambridge (UK). They have one son, a graduate of the
London School of Economics, who recently left the Thai Ministry of Finance to continue his postgraduate studies at the
John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Surakiart Sathirathai'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://surakiart_sathirathai.totallyexplained.com">Surakiart Sathirathai Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
