Prawit Wongsuwan

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Prawit Wongsuwan (2018)

Prawit Wongsuwan ( Thai ประวิตร วงษ์ สุวรรณ ; born August 11, 1945 in Bangkok ) is a Thai retired army officer and politician. The general was from 2004 to 2005 commander in chief of the Thai army. From 2008 to 2011 he was a non-party Defense Minister in Abhisit Vejjajiva's government . After the military coup in May 2014, he became chairman of the junta's “advisory body”. Since August 2014 he has been Deputy Prime Minister and again Minister of Defense in the government of General Prayuth Chan-ocha , and since September also Deputy Chairman of the "National Council for the Maintenance of Peace".

Family and education

Prawit is the son of Major General Prasert Wongsuwan. He has four younger brothers, including former Senator and Admiral Sithawat Wongsuwan, former National Police Director General Patcharawat Wongsuwan, and the late football manager Pongphan Wongsuwan. Prawit attended the renowned St. Gabriel School in Bangkok and the Armed Forces Preparatory School.

Military career

He went through the Chulachomklao Military Academy , from which he graduated in 1969 as a member of the 17th year (classmate of Sonthi Boonyaratglin ). He then served in the 21st Infantry Regiment (Queen's Life Guard). In 1978 he graduated from the General Staff School of the Thai Army. In 1984 he was transferred to the 12th Infantry Regiment, where he was promoted to deputy commander in 1986 and commander in 1989. In 1992 he was appointed one of the king's aides . In 1996 he was promoted to commander of the 2nd Infantry Division.

After graduating from the National Defense College in 1997 , he was appointed deputy commanding general and in 1998 commanding general of the First Army Region, which is responsible for Bangkok and the central region. In 2001 he was appointed chief of staff in the operational department of the army. After briefly returning to command of the First Army Region, in 2003 he became Deputy Commander in Chief of the Army and in 2004 himself became the Supreme Commander of the Thai Land Forces.

Prawit is regarded as a mentor (or "big brother") of an internal military clique that calls itself "Tiger of the East" because its members mostly began their careers in the 21st Infantry Regiment (Queen's Life Guard), which is based in eastern Thailand. The group includes the former army commander-in-chief Anupong Paochinda and his successor Prayuth Chan-ocha .

politics

Prawit Wongsuwan (2010)

After one year he reached the age limit for active military service and was retired. He then served as a judge at the Supreme Military Court. After the coup in September 2006 , he was appointed a member of the National Legislative Assembly, which served as a replacement for the dissolved parliament.

In December 2008, Prawit was appointed Minister of Defense in the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva ( Democratic Party ). He held this position until the election winner Yingluck Shinawatra and her Pheu-Thai party took over the government in August 2011.

During the political crisis that began in Thailand in November 2013 , Prawit was often suspected of being the man behind the anti-government protests and the leader of a possible coup (which he denied) or a potential candidate for the office of prime minister among anti-government forces.

After the military coup on May 22, 2014, the junta led by his “younger brother” General Prayuth (the “National Council for the Maintenance of Peace”) appointed him chairman of its “advisory body”. On August 31, 2014, he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and again Minister of Defense. On September 16, he was also appointed vice chairman of the junta.

Corruption suspected

The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has been investigating Prawit since December 2017. Thai politicians must provide the NACC with information about their assets (financial assets and valuable items) when they take office and when they end, and these are also published. Citizens had noticed valuable watches and rings in pictures of Prawit during public appearances, which were not recorded in his statement of assets. The "Association for the Protection of the Thai Constitution" pointed to Prawit's overall high fortune. When he took office as Minister of Defense for the first time in 2008, he had given its value at 57 million baht, at the beginning of his second term in 2014 at 87 million. Since Prawit had been in the civil service for 40 years as a soldier and then as a minister and never owned a company, the origin of such a large fortune is inexplicable for the citizen group. In a Facebook group, a list of 25 high-priced watches, mainly from the brands Patek Philippe , Richard Mille and Rolex , that Prawit had worn was compiled by mid-January 2018 . Their total value is estimated at 39.5 million baht.

Prawit defended himself by stating that he had borrowed these watches from a friend, billionaire Pattawat Suksiwong, who died in 2017, and had since returned them to his heir. The fact that the investigations by the anti-corruption authority had not made any progress after four months led to critical comments in the Thai press. Prawit described himself as a “victim” of a campaign intended to damage Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b ประวิตร วงษ์สุวรรณ, ThaiRath.co.th
  2. ↑ John Cole, Steve Sciacchitano: Thai military resists political pressure. ( Memento of the original from February 21, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / atimes.com archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Asia Times , October 13, 2012.
  3. ↑ Willi Germund: General Prayuth Chan-ocha — Thailand's strong man hates the media and loves the monarchy. In: General-Anzeiger , May 22, 2014.
  4. ^ First round of mediation in Bangkok with no result. ORF.at, May 21, 2014.
  5. ↑ Wassana Nanuam: 'Silent' military coup beats having a real one. In: Bangkok Post , December 12, 2013.
  6. ↑ Jason Szep, Amy Sawitta Lefevre: Powerful forces revealed behind Thai protest movement. Reuters, December 13, 2013.
  7. ^ Prawit, Somkid, Pridiyathorn named advisers. In: Bangkok Post , May 27, 2014.
  8. ↑ Thailand's army appoints government critics to advisory staff. ORF.at, May 27, 2014.
  9. ^ Prayuth 1 cabinet endorsed. In: Bangkok Post , August 31, 2014.
  10. ↑ Somkid, Meechai sit on NCPO. In: Bangkok Post , September 16, 2014.
  11. ↑ at the rate at that time approx. 1.7 million euros.
  12. ↑ approx. 2.2 million euros.
  13. ↑ Clock ticking for blinged-out Prawit. In: Bangkok Post , December 8, 2017.
  14. ↑ around 1 million euros.
  15. ^ Prawit watch claim stirs ridicule. In: Bangkok Post (online), January 18, 2018.
  16. ↑ Kas Chanwanpen: NACC comes up empty in Prawit scandal, saying watchmakers' responses needed. In: The Nation (online), March 30, 2018.
  17. ↑ Editorial: NACC fails major test. In: Bangkok Post (online), April 2, 2018.
  18. ↑ Veera Prateepchaikul: It's time for NACC to stop being a lap dog. In: Bangkok Post (online), April 2, 2018.
  19. ↑ Wassana Nanuam: Watch saga 'just a plot to attack PM'. In: Bangkok Post (online), April 2, 2018.
personal data
SURNAME Prawit Wongsuwan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES ประวิตร วงษ์ สุวรรณ (ThS)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Thai retired army officer and politician
DATE OF BIRTH August 11, 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH Bangkok