Chumpol Silpa-archa ( th, ชุมพล ศิลปอาชา, , ; 6 June 1940 – 21 January 2013) was a Thai politician who served in the government of Thailand as Minister of Tourism and Sports from 2008 to 2013; he was also

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

from 2011 to 2013. Beginning in January 2009, he was the president of the

Chartthaipattana Party The Chartthaipattana Party ( th, พรรคชาติไทยพัฒนา ''Phak Chat Thai Phatthana'', (CP) ''Thai Nation Development Party'') was founded on 18 April 2008, in anticipation of the 2 December 2008, Constitutional Court of ...

. He was the younger brother of Prime Minister

Banharn Silpa-archa Banharn Silpa-archa (also spelled ''Banhan'', ''Silapa''-, ''Sinlapa''-, -''acha''; th, บรรหาร ศิลปอาชา, , ; ; 19 August 1932 – 23 April 2016) was a Thai politician. He was the Prime Minister of Thailand from 1995 ...

Early life

Born at

Suphanburi Suphan Buri () is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in central Thailand. It covers ''tambon'' Tha Philiang and parts of ''tambons'' Rua Yai and Tha Rahat, all within the Mueang Suphan Buri District. As of 2006 it had a population of 26,656. The town ...

, Chumpol held a Bachelor of Laws from the

Thammasat University Thammasat University ( Abrv: TU th, มธ.; th, มหาวิทยาลัยธรรมศาสตร์, , ) is a public research university in Thailand with campuses in Tha Phra Chan area of Phra Nakhon District near the Grand Pala ...

and an

MPA MPA or mPa may refer to: Academia Academic degrees * Master of Performing Arts * Master of Professional Accountancy * Master of Public Administration * Master of Public Affairs Schools * Mesa Preparatory Academy * Morgan Park Academy * Mo ...

from the

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

Political career

He worked as a

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

and political science lecturer at the Thammasat University, before he entered politics in 1979. A member of the conservative-populist

Thai Nation Party Thai Nation Party, or Chart Thai Party ( th, พรรคชาติไทย, ) was a conservative political party in Thailand. It was dissolved by the Constitutional Court of Thailand on December 2, 2008, along with the People's Power Party and ...

, he represented Suphan Buri Province in

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...

. In the following years he held different high-rank government positions. In 1986 and 1992, he was Vice President of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. From 1997 to 1998 he was Minister of Education in

Chuan Leekpai Chuan Leekpai ( th, ชวน หลีกภัย, , ; ; born 28 July 1938) is a Thai politician who is the current President of the National Assembly of Thailand as well as the incumbent Speaker of the Thai House of Representatives. Previous ...

's cabinet. As he was no member of the Thai Nation Party's executive board, he was, unlike his brother, not banned from political activity by the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

's ruling of 2 December 2008. So he could, as his brother's proxy, become leader of the Chartthaipattana Party, which is the de facto successor of the dissolved Thai Nation Party. After his grouping broke the coalition with the People's Power Party and joined the Democrat-led government, Chumpol became Minister of Tourism and Sports under Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. When the

Pheu Thai Party The Pheu Thai Party (PTP; th, พรรคเพื่อไทย, lit=For Thais Party, , ) is the third incarnation of a Thai political party founded by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The Pheu Thai Party was founded on 20 Septemb ...

led by

Yingluck Shinawatra Yingluck Shinawatra ( th, ยิ่งลักษณ์ ชินวัตร, , ; ; born 21 June 1967), nicknamed Pou ( th, ปู, , , meaning "crab"), is a Thai businesswoman, politician and a member of the Pheu Thai Party who became the Pr ...

won the 2011 elections, Chumpol changed sides again, and directed his Chartthaipattana Party into the coalition with Pheu Thai. He kept the Tourism and Sports portfolio and was additionally appointed

, on 9 August 2011.

Death

Chumpol died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...

on 21 January 2013, around 09:30 hours, at

Ramathibodi Hospital Ramathibodi Hospital ( th, โรงพยาบาลรามาธิบดี ) is a university hospital of the Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University. and is a hospital capable of super tertiary care. It is a teaching ...

, while holding the offices of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism and Sports.

Royal Decorations

Chumpol Silpa-archa has been decorated with the Special Class of both the

Order of the White Elephant __NOTOC__ The Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant ( th, เครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันเป็นที่เชิดชูยิ่งช้างเผือก; ) is an order of Thailand. It wa ...

and the

Order of the Crown of Thailand The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand ( th, เครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันมีเกียรติยศยิ่งมงกุฎไทย; ) is a Thai order, established in 1869 by King Rama ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silpa-Archa, Chumpol 1940 births 2013 deaths Chumpol Silpa-archa Chumpol Silpa-archa Chumpol Silpa-archa Syracuse University alumni Chumpol Silpa-archa Chumpol Silpa-archa Chumpol Silpa-archa Chumpol Silpa-archa Chumpol Silpa-archa Chumpol Silpa-archa Chumpol Silpa-archa Chumpol Silpa-archa