Nataphol Teepsuwan (, born 29 May 1966) is a Thai politician. He served as

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 ...

in the second cabinet of Prime Minister

Prayut Chan-o-cha Prayut Chan-o-cha (sometimes spelled Prayuth Chan-ocha; , ; born 21 March 1954) is a former Thai politician, army officer and dictator who became the 29th prime minister of Thailand after seizing power in the 2014 Thai coup d'état, 2014 coup ...

from 10 July 2019 until he was removed from office. In February 2021, he was found guilty of insurrection during protests that led to the 2014 coup d'état. He was released from prison on bail that same month, which stands in contrast to his sentence still standing at a prison term of seven years and four months.

Early life and education

Nataphol was born on 29 May 1966 in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, United States. He was the son of Viraphan Teepsuwan, Chairman of the Siam City Cement, and Chantima Teepsuwan. He married Taya Teepsuwan and has 3 children. He graduated high school from The

Williston Northampton School Williston Northampton School (simply referred to as Williston) is a private, co-educational, day and boarding college-preparatory school in Easthampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1841. History Williston Semina ...

in the US and then Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing,

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

and master's degree in marketing (English Program),

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 ...

Careers

Nataphol is a businessman and the executive of the Campana

tile Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, Rock (geology), stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, wal ...

business. He also holds the position of General Manager of Royal Thai Company Limited in the

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

Branch and overseeing the expansion of "Royal Thai" branded carpet in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. Nataphol was also the President of Rugby School Thailand.

Political careers

Nataphol turns himself into political careers by running the election for a member of the House of Representatives in the 2007 election for Democrat Party. After the election, he was appointed by the Democratic Party meeting to serve as the Director of the Democratic Party. Later, he resigned from the party on 11 November 2014 to lead the rally against the amnesty law in

2013–2014 Thai political crisis The 2013–2014 Thai political crisis was a period of political instability in Thailand. Anti-government protests took place between November 2013 and May 2014, organised by the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), a political pressur ...

. After the coup he has joined the

Palang Pracharath Party Palang Pracharath Party (, , ; ) is a Thai right-wing conservative civil-military political party with ties to the National Council for Peace and Order, the military junta that ruled the country after the 2014 coup. It was established in 2018 by ...

before being elected as a vice-leader on 29 September 2018 to run

2019 Thai general election Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' D ...

. On 10 July 2019, he was appointed to the position of Minister of Education. On 24 February 2021, the Criminal Court sentenced Nataphol to imprisonment for seven years and four months, resulting in him immediately terminated his position as Minister of Education.

Royal decorations

* 2012 - Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Most Exalted

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Teepsuwan, Nataphol Living people 1966 births Nataphol Teepsuwan Nataphol Teepsuwan Nataphol Teepsuwan Nataphol Teepsuwan