Thaksin confidant entered politics after rising to top of bureaucracy
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Yongyuth Wichaidit, who has just left the Cabinet, was known to be one of the most trusted ministers of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her brother, former prime minister Thaksin.
Yongyuth was made Pheu Thai Party leader on December 7, 2008, by a vote of party members. At the time of the vote, Yongyuth was acting deputy leader and the only nominee for the leadership.
He held the post of Pheu Thai leader for nearly two years before stepping down on September 9, 2010, saying he wanted the party’s structure to be overhauled before the general election, amid speculation that Yongyuth was asked to step down to pave way for former interior minister Kowit Watana.
However, Yongyuth was re-elected as the Pheu Thai leader.
Before Yongyuth became the party leader in 2008, he was reported to have been involved with Thaksin since 2002.
When he was deputy permanent secretary for the Interior Ministry in 2002, Yongyuth revoked an order from the Land Department chief rescinding the transfer of land from a temple to the Alpine Golf Course Co. The revocation of the Land Department director-general’s order allowed the transfer to proceed. Critics alleged that Yongyuth gave the order to help Thaksin because Thaksin’s wife at that time, Khunying Pojaman, had bought the Alpine golf course from Snoh Thienthong in 1998 for Bt500 million.
After he retired and entered politics, Yongyuth became an assistant to then public health minister Sudarat Keyuraphan on March 18, 2003, and became an adviser to then interior minister Kowit on March 20, 2004.
Yongyuth made his debut as an MP in last year’s general election as a Pheu Thai party-list candidate. He later became a deputy prime minister and interior minister in Thaksin’s quota.
He is reportedly trusted by both Yingluck and Thaksin. Yongyuth even admitted publicly that he sought advice from Thaksin, and it has been reported that he led senior Interior Ministry officials to meet the self-exiled former prime minister abroad.
Yongyuth also came out to express support for amnesty for Thaksin on grounds of human rights and fairness.
Yongyuth was born on July 15, 1942. He graduated from Chulalongkorn University’s faculty of political science and received a master’s degree in political science from the National Institute of Development Administration.
He started his career at the Interior Ministry in 1966. He became a deputy permanent secretary for Interior in 1998, and was appointed Land Department director-general in 2000. He became a deputy permanent secretary again in 2001 and rose to the position of permanent secretary on March 5, 2002.
He was in the top Interior Ministry position for eight months before he retired in 2002.
