Chai-Anan Samudavanija (; ; 23 February 1944 – 14 September 2018) was a Thai

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

. He served as a director of Vajiravudh College, president of the Royal Institute, judge of 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 ru ...

, and professor of political science at

Chulalongkorn University Chulalongkorn University (CU; ; , ) is a public university, public Autonomous university, autonomous research university in Bangkok, Thailand. The university was originally founded during King Chulalongkorn's reign as a school for training ro ...

. He was one of the key drafters of the

1997 constitution of Thailand The Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand, Buddhist Era 2540 (1997) (, ) was a constitution of Thailand enacted on 11 October 1997 to replace the 1991 Constitution, and was widely hailed as a landmark in Thai democratic constitutional reform, i ...

. During the 2005–2006 political crisis, he was a vocal critic of Prime Minister

Thaksin Shinawatra Thaksin Shinawatra (, ; born 26 July 1949) is a Thai businessman and politician who was the 23rd prime minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006. Since 2009 he has also been a citizen of Montenegro. Thaksin founded the mobile phone operator A ...

. He was associated with

Sondhi Limthongkul Sondhi Limthongkul (born 7 November 1947) is a Thai media proprietor, conspiracy theorist, pro-Beijing anti-democracy reactionary activist, demagogue, and leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD). In 2009 he was elected leader of the N ...

: he chaired IEC and was head of several of Sondhi's foundations. Chai-Anan supported the 2006 military coup that overthrew the Thaksin government. After gaining the support of the military and 40 provincial

millionaires A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. Depending on the currency, a certain level of prestige is associated with being a millionaire. Many national currencies have, or ha ...

, Chai-Anan helped found the

Matchima The Neutral Democratic Party (PMT; Thai language, Thai: พรรคมัชฌิมาธิปไตย) was a short-lived populist political party in Thailand founded in 2007 by Somsak Thepsuthin, a former Thai Rak Thai, Thai Rak Thai Part ...

political party. Chai-Anan died on 14 September 2018 at

King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital (KCMH, ; ) is a public general and tertiary referral hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. It is operated by the Thai Red Cross Society, and serves as the teaching hospital for the Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn U ...

at the age of 74.

Academic rank

* Professor

References

External links

Short biography at the website of EGCO public company limited
* Bangkok Post
Chai-Anan ready to enter party politics
30 June 2007 * The Nation
New party ready to launch
26 June 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Samudavanija, Chai-Anan Chai-Anan Samudavanija Chai-Anan Samudavanija Chai-Anan Samudavanija Chai-Anan Samudavanija Chai-Anan Samudavanija Chai-Anan Samudavanija Chai-Anan Samudavanija Chai-Anan Samudavanija Constitutional court judges 2018 deaths 1944 births Political scientists on Thailand