Surawit Khonsomboon (; born on 23 April 1949 in

Chaiyaphum Chaiyaphum (, ; , ) is a town ('' thesaban mueang'') in northeastern Thailand, capital of Chaiyaphum Province. it had a population of 58,350, and covers the full ''tambon'' Nai Mueang of Mueang Chaiyaphum District. Chaiyaphum is 337 road kilom ...

) is a Thai

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

medical doctor A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the study, diagnosis, prognosis ...

. He is a former Member of Parliament representing 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 its electoral victory in 2011 to January 2012 he was Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister in the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

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 ...

, subsequently he served as Deputy Minister of Public Health until October 2012.

Family life

Surawit was born in Chaiyaphum province on 23 April 1949. He is married to Parnthip Khonsomboon (Thai: ปานทิพย์ คนสมบูรณ์), a politician also representing the Pheu Thai Party. They have two sons and one daughter: Jarudet (Thai: จารุเดจ คนสมบูรณ์); Phawarat (Thai: ภวรัตน์ คนสมบูรณ์) and Thanawat (Thai: ธนวัฒน์ คนสมบูรณ์).

Education

Surawit holds two bachelor's degrees from

Chiang Mai University Chiang Mai University (CMU; ) is a national public research university in northern Thailand founded in 1964. It has a strong emphasis on engineering, science, agriculture, and medicine. Its instructional mission includes undergraduate, graduate, ...

, one in Science and one in Medicine and graduated in 1971 and 1973 respectively. He then received a scholarship from the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

to study and carry out research in Eyes in Japan and India during 1979–1981. He then obtained another bachelor's degree in law from

Ramkhamhaeng University Ramkhamhaeng University (RU; , ) is Thailand's largest public university. It was named in honour of King Ramkhamhaeng, one of the 5 children of Por Khun Sri-Intharathitaya and Nang Sueng, who was believed to have created the Thai alphabet and ...

in 1984. In 1987 he completed a diploma in Community Eye Health (DCEH) from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. Surawit completed a master's degree in

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

from The

National Institute of Development Administration The National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) ) is the only public higher education institution in Thailand that teaches only at the graduate level (postgraduate) with a strong emphasis on Management, Economics and sustainable deve ...

(NIDA) in 2001, and recently received an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from Chaiyaphum Rajabhat University in 2009.

Career

Surawit started his career as a

doctor Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

Hospital, specialising in EENT. During his 14 years as a doctor he was awarded Outstanding Rural Doctor of the Year (1982) from the

Medical Association A medical association or medical college is a trade association that brings together practitioners of a particular geographical area (a country, region, province). In common-law countries, they are often grouped by medical specialties ( cardiolo ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. He is a founder of the Foundation of the Protection of the Eyes in Chaiyaphum province. He is also a board member and helped found The Foundation to Prevent Blindness: Ministry of Health.

Political career

Surawit first entered politics as an MP with the

New Aspiration Party The New Aspiration Party () is a political party in Thailand. The party was established in 1990 by General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh after his retirement as Commander-In-Chief of the Royal Thai Army. This party won the elections of 1996 and formed ...

in 1992. He won eight consecutive elections included the most recent

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 ...

held in July 2011. His past political appointments include being Assistant Secretary to the

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

in 1992 and Assistant Secretary to the

Minister of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

in 1995. A year later, he held the position of Secretary of the Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, together with the position of Deputy Secretary of the prime minister. He went on to serve in the same position as Deputy Secretary of prime minister once again in 2005. He is currently a Secretary of the board of directors of MP in the North Eastern Region of Pheu Thai Party. After the Pheu Thai Party's victory in the July 2011 general election, he was appointed as Minister for Office of the Prime Minister in the government of Yingluck Shinawatra on 9 August 2011. In a major cabinet reshuffle on 18 January 2012, he was reassigned to Deputy Minister of Public Health. He lost that post during another reshuffle on 28 October of the same year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khonsomboon, Surawit 1949 births Living people Surawit Khonsomboon Surawit Khonsomboon Surawit Khonsomboon Surawit Khonsomboon Alumni of the University of London Surawit Khonsomboon Surawit Khonsomboon Surawit Khonsomboon Surawit Khonsomboon Surawit Khonsomboon