Suranand appointed PM's secretary general
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The Cabinet on Tuesday approved two key appointments, including the position of Prime Minister's secretary general filled by Suranand Vejjajiva.
Suranand was the PM’s Office minister in the Thaksin Shinawatra administration. He was also one of the 111 Thai Rak Thai executives who just saw the expiry of their five-year political ban on May 30.
Freed from the ban, he had already sought and received the membership of the ruling Pheu Thai Party.
Since last year, he worked behind the scenes to screen the work agendas for Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. He played a prominent role in defending the prime minister’s performance on flood control. In March, he served as personal spokesman for Yingluck.
As secretary general to the prime minister, he is expected to supervise the policy implementation and act as the troubleshooter for the government.
In another appointment, the Cabinet named former Thai Rak Thai MP Sansanee Nakpong as the government spokeswoman.
Sansanee was a popular news anchorwoman before entering politics. She was elected MP for Bangkok’s Bang Na constituency in 2001. Due to the redrawing of voting zone, she lost her reelection bid in 2007. She did not contest the last general election.
