Kobsak Pootrakool
กอบศักดิ์ ภูตระกูล
Minister of the Office of the Prime Minister
In office
23 November 2017 – 29 January 2019
Prime MinisterPrayut Chan-o-cha
Preceded byOrmsin Chivapruck
Suvit Maesincee
Succeeded byTewan Liptapallop
Personal details
Born (1968-08-23) 23 August 1968
Bangkok, Thailand
Political partyPalang Pracharath Party (2018–2020)
Alma mater
Profession
  • Economist
  • politician

Kobsak Pootrakool (Thai: กอบศักดิ์ ภูตระกูล; born 23 August 1968) is a Thai economist and former politician. He served as Minister of the Office of the Prime Minister in the first cabinet of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Before entering politics, he worked at the Bank of Thailand and the Bangkok Bank.

Education

Kobsak Pootrakool obtained a scholarship from the Bank of Thailand to study in the United States after finishing high school. He went on to earn a BA in mathematics and economics from Williams College in 1991 and a PhD in macroeconomics and international economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1997.[1]

Professional career

After graduation, he came to work at the Bank of Thailand for 14 years, developing and implementing monetary policy and financial institution policy. He was seconded to the Stock Exchange of Thailand from 2008–2009 as executive director of its Research Institute for Capital Market. He resigned from the central bank in 2010 and joined Bangkok Bank to work on international banking.

Political career

An interim constitution promulgated after the 2014 Thai coup d'état established a committee chaired by Borwornsak Uwanno to draft a new constitution. Kobsak was appointed to this Constitution Drafting Committee when a member resigned.[2] The committee was dissolved in September 2015 after its draft was rejected by the National Reform Council.[3][4] A new committee chaired by Meechai Ruchuphan replaced it and drew up a version that passed referendum on 7 August 2016[5] and came into effect on 6 April 2017.[6]

Not long after the committee dissolution, Kobsak was appointed as vice minister for Office of Prime Minister, working under deputy prime minister Somkid Jatusripitak who was in charge of economic affairs.[7] He was later appointed to the National Economic Reform Committee[8] and eventually to the cabinet as Minister of the Office of the Prime Minister[9] on 23 November 2017.

When Palang Pracharath Party was established in 2018 to prepare the ruling government for the 2019 Thai general election, Kobsak was named as party spokesman.[10] The new party was criticized by rival parties from having four serving ministers of the cabinet in executive positions, giving it an unfair advantage in the upcoming campaign. Although Kobsak, as spokesman, asserted that the ministers will not abuse their authority,[11] all four ministers, including Kobsak, resigned from the cabinet on 29 January 2019 to devote their time to the election.[12]

The general election resulted in a coalition government led by Palang Pracharath party, with Prayut Chan-o-cha elected as prime minister. Kobsak was not appointed to the new cabinet but instead given the post of deputy secretary-general to the prime minister.[13] A year later, the military faction within the party consolidated its power and pushed out the technocrat faction.[14] Somkid Jatusripitak, deputy prime minister in charge of the economy, resigned together with his economic ministerial team, including Kobsak.[15] [16]

References

  1. ↑ "นายกอบศักดิ์ ภูตระกูล". Parliament HRIS Portal. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  2. ↑ "แต่งตั้งกรรมาธิการยกร่างรัฐธรรมนูญแทนตำแหน่งที่ว่าง" [Constitution Drafting Committee appointment] (PDF) (in Thai). Royal Thai Government Gazette. 3 March 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  3. ↑ Head, Jonathan (6 September 2015). "Thailand constitution: Military's council rejects draft". BBC News. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  4. ↑ Fuller, Thomas (6 September 2015). "Thailand's Military Junta Rejects Draft Constitution". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  5. ↑ Campbell, Charlie (8 August 2016). "Thais Vote in Favor of a Constitution That Cements the Military's Role in Politics". Time. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  6. ↑ Kennedy, Merrit (6 April 2017). "Thai King Signs Military-Backed Constitution". NPR. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  7. ↑ "แต่งตั้งกรรมการผู้ช่วยรัฐมนตรี นายกอบศักดิ์ ภูตระกูล" [Vice Minister Appointment: Kobsak Pootrakool] (PDF) (in Thai). The Secretariat of the Cabinet. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  8. ↑ "แต่งตั้งคณะกรรมการปฏิรูปประเทศด้านต่าง ๆ" [National Reform Committees Appointment] (PDF) (in Thai). Royal Thai Government Gazette. 15 August 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  9. ↑ "ให้รัฐมนตรีพ้นจากความเป็นรัฐมนตรีและแต่งตั้งรัฐมนตรี" [Ministers Removal and Appointment] (PDF) (in Thai). Royal Thai Government Gazette. 24 September 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 December 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  10. ↑ Thanthong-Knight, Randy (30 September 2018). "New Thai Party Picks Ministers From Junta as Leaders Before Poll". BloombergQuint. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  11. ↑ "Ministers in dual roles face calls to quit". Bangkok Post. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  12. ↑ "Palang Pracharath ministers resign from cabinet". Bangkok Post. 29 January 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  13. ↑ "แต่งตั้งข้าราชการการเมือง" [Political Officials Appointment] (PDF) (in Thai). Royal Thai Government Gazette. 5 August 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  14. ↑ "General Prawit accepts invitation to head Palang Pracharat party". Thai Public Broadcasting Service. 22 June 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  15. ↑ Sivasomboon, Busaba (16 July 2020). "4 Thai Cabinet ministers resign after party leader shakeup". Associated Press. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  16. ↑ "ข้าราชการการเมืองลาออกจากตำแหน่ง" [Resignation of Political Official] (PDF) (in Thai). The Secretariat of the Cabinet. 21 July 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
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