THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Chatumongkol chosen to head ACT party

Chatumongkol chosen to head ACT party

The right-leaning Action Coalition for Thailand (ACT) party on Sunday picked former central bank governor MR Chatumongkol Sonakul as its leader.

Academic-turned-politician Anek Laothamatas, who had been tipped for the post, withdrew his candidacy, citing his own preference for the royalist former banker.
Thaweesak Na Takuathung, a lawyer for party co-founder Suthep Thaugsuban, was chosen as its secretary general.
Suthep explained that Sunday’s meeting was convened to select executive members in accordance with the law on political parties.
The executive could not be elected during the party’s congress due to legal and time limitations, he said.
Born in 1943 to a family descended from King Rama V, Chatumongkol was governor of the Bank of Thailand from 1998-2001.
He served as permanent secretary of the Finance Ministry from 1995-1997.
ACT is an outcropping of the anti-Shinawatra movement whose street protests against the Yingluck Shinawatra government are widely seen as fomenting the military coup of May 2014.
ACT is regarded as a pro-junta party that could potentially support General Prayut Chan-o-cha, the current premier, to remain in the post after next year’s election.

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