Wissanu Krea-ngam ( th, วิษณุ เครืองาม, , ; born 15 September 1951) is a Thai jurist,
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...
, and
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...
. He was the secretary-general of the cabinet from 1993 to 2002 and deputy prime minister under
Thaksin Shinawatra from 2002 to 2006. After the
2014 Thai coup d'état, he served as an advisor to the military junta (
National Council for Peace and Order
The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO; th, คณะรักษาความสงบแห่งชาติ; ; abbreviated ( th, คสช.; )) was the military junta that ruled Thailand between its 2014 Thai coup d'état on 22 M ...
, NCPO) responsible for drafting the post-coup
2014 interim constitution. Since August 2014, he has again been deputy prime minister under General
Prayut Chan-o-cha
Prayut Chan-o-cha (sometimes spelled Prayuth Chan-ocha; th, ประยุทธ์ จันทร์โอชา, ; born 21 March 1954) is a Thai politician and retired army officer who has served as the Prime Minister of Thailand since he ...
.
Life and career
Wissanu was born in
Hat Yai District
Hat Yai ( th, หาดใหญ่, ) is a district (''amphoe'') of Songkhla province, southern Thailand.
Geography
Neighboring districts are (from the west clockwise): Khuan Kalong of Satun province; Rattaphum, Bang Klam, Khuan Niang, Si ...
,
Songkhla Province. He is a fourth generation
Thai Chinese
Thai Chinese (also known as Chinese Thais, Sino-Thais), Thais of Chinese origin ( th, ชาวไทยเชื้อสายจีน; ''exonym and also domestically''), endonym Thai people ( th, ชาวไทย), are Chinese descenda ...
. He studied law at the
Faculty of Law, Thammasat University
The Faculty of Law, Thammasat University ( th, คณะนิติศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยธรรมศาสตร์; ) is an administrative agency of the Thai government, being an academic faculty attached to ...
, graduating with an
honours degree
Honours degree has various meanings in the context of different degrees and education systems. Most commonly it refers to a variant of the undergraduate bachelor's degree containing a larger volume of material or a higher standard of study, or ...
, and was
admitted to the bar
An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...
by the Thai Bar Association. He continued his studies in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, completing his
Master of Laws
A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mo ...
(1974) and
Doctor of Juridical Science
A Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD; ), or a Doctor of Science of Law (JSD; ), is a research doctorate in law equivalent to the more commonly awarded Doctor of Philosophy degree.
Australia
The S.J.D. is offered by the Australian National Univ ...
(1976) from the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...
. Moreover, he completed a course at the
National Defence College of Thailand.
He lectured law at
Ramkhamhaeng,
Thammasat, and
Chulalongkorn
Chulalongkorn ( th, จุฬาลงกรณ์, 20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, titled Rama V. He was known to the Siamese of his time as ''Phra Phuttha Chao Luang'' (พร ...
Universities. In 1986 he was appointed professor of law at Chulalongkorn University. In 1991 he transferred to become the deputy secretary-general of the cabinet.
In 1993 he was promoted to secretary-general, the highest-ranking civil servant advising the cabinet on legal affairs. After frequent changes in that position during the early-1990s, Wissanu held the post for more than a decade, surviving four changes of government.
In 2002 Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra invited Wissanu to become a minister in his cabinet, changing from the civil service to a political career, but also threatened to dismiss him as secretary-general in case of refusal. Wissanu agreed and Thaksin made him deputy prime minister, responsible for legal and parliamentary affairs.
At that time, Thaksin had seven deputy prime ministers. Wissanu's successor as secretary-general of the cabinet was his personal friend
Borwornsak Uwanno.
During the
2005–06 Thai political crisis and after the dissolution of parliament,
both Wissanu and Borwornsak resigned their government posts.
After the
19 September 2006 military coup, he helped the military junta (
Council for Democratic Reform under the Constitutional Monarchy, CDR) draft a
post-coup interim constitution, alongside Borwornsak Uwanno. According to political scientist
Thitinan Pongsudhirak
Thitinan Pongsudhirak ( th, ฐิตินันท์ พงษ์สุทธิรักษ์) is a Thai political scientist, speaker and Associate Professor at Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, where he is th ...
, Borwornsak and Wissanu could "seemingly write constitutions overnight". Wissanu then became a member of the military-appointed
National Legislative Assembly. During and after this time, he continued to teach at the Chulalongkorn University.
Wissanu has served as chairman of the
university council of
Songkhla Rajabhat University
Songkhla Rajabhat University (Thai: มหาวิทยาลัยราชภัฏสงขลา) or SKRU is a Thai public university under the Rajabhat University system. The campus is in Songkhla Province, south Thailand
Southern Thaila ...
and member of the councils of
Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai (, from th, เชียงใหม่ , nod, , เจียงใหม่ ), sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second largest city in ...
,
Thaksin
Thaksin Shinawatra ( th, ทักษิณ ชินวัตร; ; ; Chinese: 丘達新; cnr, Taksin Šinavatra; born 26 July 1949), is a Thai businessman, politician and visiting professor. He served in the Thai Police from 1973 to 1987, a ...
,
Kasem Bundit, Chulalongkorn,
Chiang Rai Rajabhat, and
Prince of Songkla Universities, as well as the council of
King Prajadhipok's Institute.
Since 2009 he has been the chairman of the
SET
Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to:
Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics
*Set (mathematics), a collection of elements
*Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively
Electro ...
-listed property developer
Amata Corporation pcl and an independent director since 2007. Moreover, he has held executive positions in the private sector as chairman of
BFIT Securities pcl and as its director (since 2008), chairman of
Bangkok First Investment & Trust pcl (2008–2014), chairman of Namyong Terminal pcl, chairman of
Sikarin pcl (2006–2014) and as its director (since 2006), chairman of
RHB OSK Securities (Thailand) pcl (since 2008) and as its director (2008–2011), vice chairman of
AEC Securities pcl and as its independent director (since 2013), second vice chairman of
Sermsuk pcl (2011–2014) and as its director, as an independent director of
The Post Publishing pcl (until 2014), an independent director of
Loxley PLC (2008–2014) and as a director at
Thai Airways International
Thai Airways International Public Company Limited, trading as THAI (, th, บริษัท การบินไทย จำกัด (มหาชน)) is the flag carrier airline of Thailand. Formed in 1961, the airline has its corporate h ...
pcl.
Academic analysis
Political scientist
Eugénie Mérieau cites Wissanu Krea-ngam, along with
Meechai Ruchuphan
Meechai Ruchuphan ( th, มีชัย ฤชุพันธุ์, , ; born 2 February 1938 in Bangkok) is a Thai legal expert and politician who served as acting Prime Minister of Thailand in 1992.
Life and career
Education and civil se ...
and
Borwornsak Uwanno, as leading examples of legal scholars who laid the juridical foundations for authoritarian rule in Thailand, and as exponents of a "legal-military alliance for illiberal constitutionalism." Wissanu, according to Mérieau, is a proponent of theories that legalised coups d'état "by reference to the continuity of the Thai state as embodied by the king".
Royal decorations
Wissanu has received the following decorations and awards in the
Honours System
An order is a visible honour awarded by a sovereign state, monarch, dynastic house or organisation to a person, typically in recognition of individual merit, that often comes with distinctive insignia such as collars, medals, badges, and sashe ...
of Thailand:
* Knight Grand Commander (Second Class, Upper Grade) of the
Order of Chula Chom Klao
The Most Illustrious Order of Chula Chom Klao ( th, เครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์จุลจอมเกล้า; ) was established on 16 November 1873 by King Rama V of The Kingdom of Siam (now Thailand) to ...
* Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the
Order of the White Elephant
__NOTOC__
The Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant ( th, เครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันเป็นที่เชิดชูยิ่งช้างเผือก; ) is an order of Thailand. It wa ...
* Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of 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 ...
* Knight Grand Cross (First Class) of the
Order of the Direkgunabhorn
References
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Scholars of constitutional law
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UC Berkeley School of Law alumni
Wissanu Krea-ngam
1951 births
Living people
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