Thamanat Prompow, is a Thai politician who served as the Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives of

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 ...

from 1 September 2023 to 3 September 2024. He formerly served as the Deputy Minister of the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry of Thailand under

Second Prayut cabinet The Second Prayut cabinet, formally known as the 62nd Council of Ministers (คณะรัฐมนตรีไทย คณะที่ 62), was formed on 10 July 2019 after the 2019 general election. The coalition is led by Palang Pracharath ...

until 2021. He also served as chairman of the National Water Resources Committee (NWRC). He has long served as a political "fixer" for the military junta that assumed power in 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 ...

. Thamanat has described himself as "the main artery" in 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 ...

's 17-party government coalition which Thamanat helped forge in the

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 ...

. He was born on 18 August 1965.

Education

Thamanat holds a bachelor's degree from

Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy (CRMA) (; ) is the service academy of Royal Thai Army (RTA). Established in 1887 it has graduated the majority of Thailand's military leaders, many of whom have become Prime Ministers of Thailand, Thai prime m ...

, a master's degree in Buddhism from

Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University Maha Chulalongkorn Rajavidyalaya University (MCRU) (, ) is one of two public Buddhist universities in Thailand, as well as being the oldest Buddhist university in the nation. It has facilities at Wat Mahathat Yuwaratrangsarit in Bangkok and at ...

and a master's in political science 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 ...

. He has a PhD in public administration from Calamus International University and California University FCE (CUFCE). His dissertation, ''The forms of the local performance development and promotion with image and identity in order to increase the value-added and value-creation: a case study of Phayao Province'' was "posted" in the ''European Journal'' according to Thamanat. Some have suggested that the doctoral degree might be bogus. Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam says it does not matter if the doctoral degree is fake as it is irrelevant. Thamanat has vowed to file around 100 lawsuits against those who he believes have lied about his past.

Heroin smuggling

Thamanat Prompow was convicted of conspiring to import

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The ruling was handed down on 31 March 1994 when he was sentenced to six years imprisonment. Manat served four years, then was deported upon his release. BBC Thai reporters traveled to Downing Court in Sydney to view court records. Forbidden to make photocopies, they translated a relevant court document into Thai as proof of the conviction that Thamanat continues to deny. Deputy Prime Minister Gen

Prawit Wongsuwon Prawit Wongsuwon (, , ; born 11 August 1945) is a Thai politician and retired army officer who served as the First Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, deputy prime minister from 2014 to 2023, Ministry of Defence (Thailand), Minister of Defence fro ...

asked the Thai people to leave the past in the past, saying the case has already been cleared up and that it was a matter concerning one person that has nothing to do with the nation. Thamanat claims he will sue the ''Sydney Morning Herald'' for defamation, although he declines to respond to their reporting.

Military service

Thamanat served in the

Royal Thai Army The Royal Thai Army or RTA (; ) is the army of Thailand and the oldest and largest branch of the Royal Thai Armed Forces. History Origin The Royal Thai Army is responsible for protecting the kingdom's sovereignty. The army was formed in 187 ...

, rising to the rank of captain. He frequently uses his former military rank before his name and is often referred to as "Captain" by the media. Political activists have asked the

Election Commission of Thailand The Election Commission (, ) is an independent government agency and the sole election management body of Thailand. It oversees government elections (parliamentary elections and local elections) as well as referendums throughout the Kingdom o ...

(EC) to answer several Thamanat-related questions: how he managed to get reinstated in the army after his long stay in Australia in "state-sponsored accommodation" and then got promoted in 1997 after returning to Thailand, and why he used the military rank of captain in documents he submitted to join the current cabinet even though his title was revoked in a ''

Royal Thai Government Gazette The ''Royal Gazette'' (; ) is the government gazette, official journal of Thailand (formerly Siam). The gazette was first published in 1858 at the behest of King Mongkut (Rama IV) as a channel for his government to communicate its information to ...

'' announcement in September 1998.

Political career

Thamanat began his political career with the

Thai Rak Thai Party The Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT; , , ; "Thais Love Thais Party") was a list of political parties in Thailand, Thai political party founded in 1998. From 2001 to 2006, it was the ruling party under its founder, Prime Minister of Thailand, Prime Mini ...

in 1999. In the

2014 Thai general election Early general elections were held in Thailand on 2 February 2014 after Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra requested King Bhumibol Adulyadej for the dissolution of parliament more than a year early owing to Thailand's political crisis. Voters el ...

, he ran for a seat in the House of Representatives as a

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 ...

candidate, but the election was declared invalid. When 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 ...

seized power in 2014, he was one of the persons ordered to report to the National Council for Peace and Order. In 2018, Thamanat 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 ...

, being appointed chairman for its northern strategy, and was elected to the House of Representatives for Phayao District 1 by defeating Arunee Chamnanya of the Puea Thai Party. As Deputy Agriculture Minister Thamanat has been active in his support of Thai farmers. In December 2019 he proposed spending 18 billion baht to purchase 30 million

latex Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latices are found in nature, but synthetic latices are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a wikt:milky, milky fluid, which is present in 10% of all floweri ...

foam pillows to prop up rubber prices for struggling growers. The proposal would require buying 150,000 tonnes of latex from Thai rubber farmers who would be paid 65 baht per kilogram instead of the market price of 40 baht. The chief of Thai Hua Rubber PLC, in favour of the idea, suggested that the pillows—estimated to cost 600 baht to manufacture—could be sold at low prices or given free to foreign tourists. Along with several other ministers of Prime Minister Prayut's government, Thamanat was the subject of a multi-day censure debate in the Thai Parliament in February 2020. Opposition parties charged that Thamanat is ineligible to be a cabinet minister because of his criminal record, and says he lied to Parliament about his case. In the course of the debate Thamanat tried to block the admission of Australian court records, arguing that accepting an Australian court's decision as proof of his unfitness for office would be an infringement of Thai sovereignty. During the debate Thamanat went on to claim that the 3.2 kilograms of heroin he was accused of smuggling into Australia was ordinary flour. At debate's end, he was rebuked by 17 members of his own party and received fewer votes of confidence than the five other ministers involved, but kept his job as Deputy Minister of Agriculture. On 9 September 2021, Thamanat was sacked from the cabinet after he had been accused of being behind a move to oust Prime Minister

during the previous week's censure debate in parliament. He and 20 MPs loyal to him were later expelled from Palang Pracharath in January 2022. His group joined the Thai Economic Party, of which he became party leader. Thamanat and his followers returned to Palang Pracharath in February 2023, after Prayut's faction had split from Palang Pracharath to join the

United Thai Nation Party The United Thai Nation Party () is an ultra-conservative nationalist Thai political party founded on 31 March 2021 by Seksakon Atthawong, the former Deputy Minister to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. In the run-up to the 2023 general elect ...

. Following the

2023 Thai general election General elections were held in Thailand on 14 May 2023 to elect 500 members of the House of Representatives (Thailand), House of Representatives. The Move Forward Party, led by Pita Limjaroenrat, surprised analysts by winning the most seats, ...

, Thamanat became Minister of Agriculture in the

Srettha cabinet The Srettha cabinet, formally known as the 63rd Council of Ministers (คณะรัฐมนตรีไทย คณะที่ 63), was formed after the May 2023 Thai general election. The coalition is led by Pheu Thai Party which nominate ...

led by the

. In August 2024, Srettha was removed 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 ...

and replaced by Paethongtharn Shinawatra. During the negotiations for the formation of the new cabinet, conflict emerged within Palang Pracharath between the factions of Thamanat and party leader

over ministerial positions. This culminated in Pheu Thai's decision to remove Phalang Pracharath from the government coalition but still retaining the faction led by Thamanat, which obtained three cabinet seats.

Personal life

Thamanat's parliamentary declaration of assets in August 2019 listed two wives, four children, and a net worth of about A$42 million, including a

Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of Luxury vehicle, luxury cars and Sport utility vehicle, SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Crickle ...

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

, Tesla, and

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...

along with 12

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and 13

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handbags, luxury watches, and

Thai Buddha amulet A Thai Buddha amulet (; ), often referred to academically as a "votive tablet", is a type of Thailand, Thai Buddhist blessed item. It is used to raise funds to help a temple's operations. A Thai Buddhist monk will give an amulet to Buddhists as ...

Royal decorations

* 2021 – Knight Grand Cross (First 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 ...

* 2020 – Knight Grand Cross (First Class) of The Most Noble

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 ...

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