Abhisit Vejjajiva is a Thai politician who was the 27th Prime Minister of Thailand from 2008 to 2011 and is the current leader of the Democrat Party. [Wikipedia]
As leader of the second largest party in the House of Representatives, he was also Leader of the Opposition - a position he held from December 2008 until his party's en masse resignation from the House on 8 December 2013.
Born in England, Abhisit attended Eton College and earned bachelors and masters degrees from the University of Oxford. He was elected to the Parliament of Thailand at age 27, and promoted to Democrat Party leader in 2005, after his predecessor resigned following the party's defeat in the 2005 general election. Abhisit was appointed Prime Minister of Thailand on 17 December 2008, after the Constitutional Court of Thailand removed Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat from office.
Abhisit became Premier at a time of global economic turmoil and rising domestic political tensions. As prime minister, he promoted a "People’s Agenda," which focused primarily on policies affecting the living conditions of Thailand's rural and working class citizens. He administered two economic stimulus packages: a $40 billion, three-year infrastructure improvement plan, and a more than $3 billion program of cash subsidies and handouts.
By 2010, the stock market and the value of the Baht had rebounded to their highest levels since the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Human Rights Watch called Abhisit "the most prolific censor in recent Thai history" and Freedom House downgraded Thailand's rating of media freedom to "not free." Abhisit also advocated for stronger anti-corruption measures, although several members of his Cabinet resigned due to corruption scandals and parts of his economic stimulus packages were criticized for instances of alleged corruption.
Having resigned the party leadership after the defeat the Democrats suffered in the parliamentary elections of 2011, Abhisit was re-elected as Leader of the Democrat Party at a party assembly.
New to t-Globe?
Register for free to get the full power of this web site!
Name
Email
Password
Confirm Password
Registered members will be able to:
use our Interactive t-Maps
see Business Neighborhoods
print a customized PDF Guidebook
get discount coupons for hotels, restaurants and other services
