Charupong Ruangsuwan (, , first name also transcribed as 'Jarupong'; born 15 August 1946) is a Thai civil servant and politician. Since October 2012 he has been the chairman of the

Pheu Thai Party The Pheu Thai Party (PT or PTP; , ) is a major conservative populist list of political parties in Thailand, political party in Thailand. It is the third incarnation of the Thai Rak Thai Party, a political party founded by former Prime Minister ...

. From January to October 2012, he was the Minister of Transport and Communication, from October 2012 until the military coup d'état in May 2014 the

Minister of Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

of Thailand.

Personal life

Charupong's father was the politician Charubutr Ruangsuwan, who served as President of the National Assembly in the 1980s and Member of Parliament representing Khon Kaen Province for six terms (he was also a '' Seri Thai'' fighter during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and a scholar of

Isan Northeast Thailand or Isan (Isan language, Isan/, ; ; also written as Isaan, Isarn, Issarn, Issan, Esan, or Esarn; from Pāli ''isāna'' or Sanskrit ईशान्य ''īśānya'' "northeast") consists of 20 provinces in northeastern Thai ...

, i.e. Northeastern Thai, culture).

Education

Charupong has graduated from

Amnuay Silpa School Amnuay Silpa School (; ) is a coeducational private school in Bangkok, Thailand. It teaches kindergarten, primary and secondary levels. The school was founded in 1926, formerly as an all-boy school in the early years. Chitra Dansuputra was the co ...

, and holds a Bachelor of Law from

Thammasat University Thammasat University (TU; ; , ) is a public university, public research university in Thailand with campuses in the Tha Phra Chan area of Bangkok, Rangsit, Pattaya and Lampang Province. , Thammasat University has over 39,000 students enrolled in ...

and a Master of Public Administration from

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 ...

. Moreover, he completed a course at the

National Defence College of Thailand The National Defence College of Thailand or NDC (; ) is an education organization that provides advanced training for both senior military officers and civilians. It is operated by the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters of the Ministry of Def ...

.จารุพงศ์ เรืองสุวรรณ
harupong Ruangsuwan ThaiRath.co.th

Career

He became an officer of the Department of Provincial Administration, serving as Chief district officer of several districts ''(

amphoe An amphoe (sometimes also ''amphur'', , )—usually translated as "district"—is the second level administrative subdivision of Thailand. Groups of ''amphoe'' or districts make up the Provinces of Thailand, provinces, and are analogous to count ...

)'' in Northeastern and Central Thailand. He later changed to the

Bangkok Metropolitan Administration The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is the local government of Bangkok, which includes the capital of Thailand. The government is composed of two branches: the executive (or the Governor of Bangkok) and the legislative (or Bangkok Metro ...

(BMA), successively serving as director of

Bang Khen Bang Khen (, ) is one of the List of districts of Bangkok, 50 districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. It is bounded by other Bangkok districts (from north clockwise): Sai Mai district, Sai Mai, Khlong Sam Wa district, Khlong Sam Wa, Khan Na Ya ...

district, deputy director of the cleansing department, assistant to the permanent secretary for the BMA, director of the community development department, director of the education department, and deputy permanent secretary for the BMA. In 2002, he returned to the state administration, successively serving as deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, permanent secretary in the

Ministry of Labour A ministry of labour ('' UK''), or labor ('' US''), also known as a department of labour, or labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, and s ...

, and permanent secretary in the

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

. Coevally, he was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of

Bangkok Mass Transit Authority Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (, ), also known as BMTA ( ), is the main operator of public transit buses within the Greater Bangkok area. It is the largest city bus system in Thailand. The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority offers bus and van r ...

starting from 2003. From 2006 to 2010, he was the rector of Southeast Asia University. Charupong was a member of the People's Power Party, and after its dissolution by the Constitutional Court in 2008 became a member of

. In May 2011, the party chose him as secretary-general. Two months later, Pheu Thai won the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

. After Prime Minister

Yingluck Shinawatra Yingluck Shinawatra (, , ; born 21 June 1967) is a Thai businesswoman, politician and a member of the Pheu Thai Party who was the 28th prime minister of Thailand from 2011 to 2014. Yingluck was Thailand's first female prime minister and its yo ...

's first cabinet reshuffle, Charupong was appointed Minister of Transport and Communication. When Pheu Thai Party chairman and Minister of Interior

Yongyuth Wichaidit Yongyuth Wichaidit (; born July 15, 1942, in Surat Thani) is a Thai politician (Pheu Thai Party). He is the younger brother of Democrat politician Thawat Wichaidit. Early life and education Yongyuth holds a bachelor's degree in Political science ...

had to resign over a corruption scandal in September 2012, Charupong succeeded him in both positions. The government, that acted only in caretaker capacity after dissolving the House of Representatives in December 2013, was toppled by a military coup on 22 May 2014. The junta ordered all cabinet members to report to their headquarters, but unlike other politicians Charupong refused to turn himself in. He claims to have taken shelter at an unspecified place in Northeastern Thailand. As a consequence, the

National Council for Peace and Order The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO; ; ; abbreviated (; )) was the military junta that ruled Thailand from its coup d'état on 22 May 2014 to 16 July 2019. On 20 May 2014, the military declared martial law nationwide in an attempt to ...

blocked his bank accounts and assets. On 24 June 2014, Charupong announced the formation of the ''Organisation of Free Thais for Human Rights and Democracy'' (OFHD),Copy of the official announcement of the establishment Organisation of Free Thais for Human Rights and Democracy (FT-HD), 24 June 2014 (pdf, 5 pages, Thai/English) seeking to restore Thai popular sovereignty in the face of the

2014 Thai coup d'état On 22 May 2014, the Royal Thai Armed Forces, led by General Prayut Chan-o-cha, the commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army, launched a coup d'état, the twelfth since the country's first coup in 1932, against the caretaker government follow ...

. The date chosen is the 82nd anniversary of the

Siamese Revolution of 1932 The Siamese revolution of 1932 or Siamese coup d'état of 1932 ( or ) was a coup d'état by the People's Party which occurred in Siam on 24 June 1932. It ended Siam's centuries-long absolute monarchy rule under the Chakri dynasty and resulte ...

. The organisation's name recalls the Thai underground resistance movement against Imperial Japan during World War II known as the

Free Thai Movement The Free Thai Movement (, , ) was a Thai underground resistance movement against the Empire of Japan during the Second World War. The Free Thai Movement were an important source of military intelligence for the Allies in the region. Background ...

(, ''Seri Thai''). On 24 June 2015, Charupong, acting as Secretary-General of OFHD, in a video uploaded on YouTube warned Thais of the risk Thailand turning into a failed state and detailed three goals of OFHD: (1) abolition of the Privy Council, (2) depoliticization/democratization/normalization of the Thai Army, and (3) depoliticization of the Thai judiciary.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruangsuwan, Charupong Charupong Ruangsuwan 1946 births Living people Charupong Ruangsuwan Charupong Ruangsuwan Public transport executives Charupong Ruangsuwan Charupong Ruangsuwan Charupong Ruangsuwan Charupong Ruangsuwan Charupong Ruangsuwan Charupong Ruangsuwan