Chumpol Silpa-archa (, , ; 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 Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

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

Chartthaipattana Party The Chartthaipattana Party (CTPP; ) is a conservative Thai political party. It was founded on 18 April 2008 in anticipation of the 2 December 2008 Constitutional Court ruling which dissolved the Thai Nation Party and banned its executive members ...

. He was the younger brother of Prime Minister

Banharn Silpa-archa Banharn Silpa-archa (, , ; , '' mǎdéxiáng''; 19 August 1932 – 23 April 2016) was a Thai politician who served as the Prime Minister of Thailand from 1995 to 1996. Banharn made a fortune in the construction business before he became a Memb ...

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 tow ...

, Chumpol held a Bachelor of Laws from the

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 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 * M ...

from the

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

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 service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

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 (, ) was a Conservatism, 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 (Thailand), People's Power P ...

, he represented

Suphan Buri Province Suphan Buri (, ) located in the central region of Thailand, is one of the country's 76 provinces (จังหวัด, changwat), the first-level administrative divisions. Neighbouring provinces are (from north clockwise) Uthai Thani, Chai ...

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. 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 entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

. From 1997 to 1998 he was

Minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

Chuan Leekpai Chuan Leekpai MPCh MVM ThChW (, , ; ; born 28 July 1938) is a Thai politician who served two terms as the prime minister of Thailand, from 1992 to 1995, and from 1997 to 2001. He is also the former president of the National Assembly of Tha ...

'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 ru ...

'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 Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

-led government, Chumpol became Minister of Tourism and Sports under Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. When 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 ...

led by

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 ...

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 caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

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

Ramathibodi Hospital Ramathibodi Hospital () 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 hospital for all undergraduate students of the Faculty of Med ...

, 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 (; ) is an order (decoration), order of Thailand. It was established in 1861 by King Mongkut, Rama IV of the Thailand, Kingdom of Siam. Along with the Order of the Crown of Thailand, it is r ...

and the

Order of the Crown of Thailand The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand (; ) is a Thai order, established in 1869 by King Rama V of The Kingdom of Siam (now Thailand) for Thais, the royal family, governmental employees, and foreign dignitaries for their outstanding serv ...

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