Early ventures

Thaksin and his wife began several businesses while he was still in the police, including a silk shop, a cinema, and an apartment building. All were failures which left him over 50 million baht in debt, which is equal to £108318.11. In 1982, he established ICSI. Using his police contacts, he leased computers to government agencies with modest success. However, later ventures in security systems (SOS) and public bus radio services (Bus Sound) all failed.^[22][23] In April 1986, he founded Advanced Info Service (AIS), which started as a computer rental business.

In 1987 Thaksin resigned from the police. He then marketed a romance drama called Baan Sai Thong, which became a popular success in theatres.^[24][25] In 1988, he joined Pacific Telesis to operate and market the PacLink pager service, a modest success, though Thaksin later sold his shares to establish his own paging company.^[12][22]

In 1989, he launched IBC, a cable television company. At that time, Thaksin had a good relationship with Chalerm Yoobumrung, the minister of the Prime Minister's Office, who was in charge of Thai press and media. It is a question whether Chalerm granted the right to Thaksin to establish IBC to benefit his close friend, seeing that the project had been denied by the previous administration.^[26] However, it turned out to be a money loser and he eventually merged the company with the CP Group's UTV.^[22][27]

In 1989, Thaksin established a data networking service, Shinawatra DataCom,^[22] today known as Advanced Data Network and owned by AIS and TOT.^[28] Many of Thaksin's businesses were later consolidated as Shin Corporation.

Advanced Info Service and later ventures

Advanced Info Service (AIS) was given a monopoly contract by Thaksin's military contacts in 1986 and used the GSM-900 frequency band. AIS grew rapidly and became the largest mobile phone operator in Thailand.^[29]

The Shinawatra Computer and Communications Group was founded in 1987 and listed in 1990.

In 1990, Thaksin founded Shinawatra Satellite, which has developed and operated four Thaicom communications satellites.

In 1999, the Shinawatra family spent some one billion baht establishing Shinawatra University in Pathum Thani. It offers international programs in engineering, architecture, and business management, though it ranks quite low in international rankings.

In 2000, Thaksin acquired the ailing iTV television station from the Crown Property Bureau, Nation Multimedia Group, and Siam Commercial Bank.^[30][31]

Political career

Thaksin entered politics in late 1994 through Chamlong Srimuang, who had just reclaimed the position of Palang Dharma Party (PDP) leader from Boonchu Rojanastien. In a subsequent purge of Boonchu-affiliated PDP cabinet ministers, Thaksin was appointed Foreign Minister in December 1994, replacing Prasong Soonsiri.^[32] Thaksin left Palang Dharma along with many of its MPs in 1996, and founded the populist Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party in 1998. After a historic election victory in 2001, he became prime minister, the country's first to serve a full term.^[33]

Thaksin introduced a range of policies to alleviate rural poverty. Highly popular, they helped reduce poverty by half in four years.^[34][35] He launched the country's first universal healthcare program,^[36] the 30-baht scheme, as well as a notorious drug suppression campaign.^[37] Thaksin embarked on a massive program of infrastructure investment, including roads, public transit, and Suvarnabhumi Airport. Nevertheless, public sector debt fell from 57 percent of GDP in January 2001 to 41 percent in September 2006.^[38][39] Levels of corruption were perceived to have fallen, with Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index improving from 3.2 to 3.8 between 2001 and 2005.^[40] The Thai Rak Thai party won in a landslide in the 2005 general election, which had the highest voter turnout in Thai history.^[41][42][43]

Twelve years later, after Thaksin was removed from power, Chamlong Srimuang expressed regret at getting "such a corrupt person" into politics. The PDP soon withdrew from the government over the Sor Por Kor 4-01 land reform corruption scandal, causing the government of Chuan Leekpai to collapse.

PDP leader and Deputy Prime Minister under Banharn

Chamlong, strongly criticised for mishandling internal PDP politics in the last days of the Chuan-government, retired from politics and hand-picked Thaksin as new PDP leader. Thaksin ran for election for the first time for the constitutional tribunal and lost.

Thaksin joined the government of Banharn Silpa-Archa and was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Bangkok traffic. In May 1996, he and four other PDP ministers quit the Banharn Cabinet (while retaining their MP seats), prompting a Cabinet reshuffle. Many have claimed that Thaksin's move was designed to help give Chamlong Srimuang a boost in the June 1996 Bangkok Governor elections, which Chamlong returned from retirement to contest.^[44] But Chamlong lost to Bhichit Rattakul, an independent.

Chamlong's failure to buttress the PDP's failing power base in Bangkok amplified divisions in the PDP, particularly between Chamlong's "temple" faction and Thaksin's. Soon afterwards, Chamlong announced he was retiring again from politics.

Thaksin and the PDP pulled out of the Banharn-government in August 1996. In a subsequent no-confidence debate, the PDP gave evidence against the Banharn government, and in September 1996 Banharn dissolved Parliament.

Thaksin announced he would not run in the subsequent November 1996 elections but would remain as leader of the PDP. It suffered a fatal defeat in the elections, winning only one seat, and soon imploded, with most members resigning.

Deputy Prime Minister under Chavalit

On 15 August 1997, Thaksin became Deputy Prime Minister in Chavalit Yongchaiyudh's government, after the Thai baht was floated and devalued on 2 July 1997, sparking the Asian financial crisis. He held the position for only three months, leaving on 14 November when Chavalit resigned.

During a censure debate on 27 September 1997, Democrat Suthep Thaugsuban accused Thaksin of profiting from insider information about the government's decision to float the baht,^[45] but the next Democrat party-led government did not investigate the accusations.

During this period, Thaksin also served on the Asia Advisory Board of the Washington, D.C. based Carlyle Group until he resigned upon becoming Prime Minister in 2001.^[46]

The Thai Rak Thai Party and the 2001 elections

Thaksin founded the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) ('Thais Love Thais') party in 1998 along with Somkid Jatusripitak, PDP ally Sudarat Keyuraphan, Purachai Piumsomboon,^[47] and 19 others.

With a populist platform often attributed to Somkid, TRT promised universal access to healthcare, a three-year debt moratorium for farmers, and one million baht locally managed development funds for all Thai villages.

After Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai dissolved parliament in November 2000, TRT won a sweeping victory in the January 2001 elections, the first held under the Constitution of 1997. At the time, some academics called it the most open, corruption-free election in Thai history.^[48] Thai Rak Thai won 248 parliamentary seats (more than any other party previously) and needed only three more seats to form a government. Nonetheless, Thaksin opted for a broad coalition to gain total control and avoid a vote of no confidence, with the Chart Thai Party (41 seats) and the New Aspiration Party (36 seats), while absorbing the smaller Seritham Party (14 seats).^[49] Thaksin became Prime Minister of Thailand on 9 February 2001.

Economic policies

Thaksin's government designed its policies to appeal to the rural majority, initiating programs like village-managed microcredit development funds, low-interest agricultural loans, direct injections of cash into village development funds (the SML scheme), infrastructure development, and the One Tambon One Product (OTOP) rural, small, and medium enterprise development program.

Thaksin's economic policies helped Thailand recover from the 1997 Asian financial crisis and substantially reduce poverty. GDP grew from 4.9 trillion baht in 2001 to 7.1 trillion baht in 2006. Thailand repaid its debts to the International Monetary Fund two years ahead of schedule.

Income in the northeast, the poorest part of the country, rose by 46 percent from 2001 to 2006.^[61] Nationwide poverty fell from 21.3 to 11.3 percent.^[34] Thailand's Gini coefficient, a measure of income inequality, fell from .525 in 2000 to .499 in 2004 (it had risen from 1996 to 2000).^[62] The Stock Exchange of Thailand outperformed other markets in the region. After facing fiscal deficits in 2001 and 2002, Thaksin balanced the national budget, producing comfortable fiscal surpluses for 2003 to 2005. Despite a massive program of infrastructure investments, a balanced budget was projected for 2007.^[63] Public sector debt fell from 57 percent of GDP in January 2001 to 41 percent in September 2006.^[38][39] Foreign exchange reserves doubled from US$30 billion in 2001 to US$64 billion in 2006.^[64]

Critics say Thaksinomics is little more than a Keynesian-style economic stimulus policy re-branded. Others claimed that the policies got the rural poor "hooked on Thaksin's hand-outs."^[65]

Thaksin helped legalise Thailand's massive underground lottery system numbers game (Thai: หวย) to be run by the Government Lottery Office. Lottery sales of approximately 70 billion baht (US$2 billion) were used for social projects, including the "One District, One Scholarship" program. The Thaksin government also privatised MCOT, a large television and radio broadcaster.^[66]

After the 2006 coup, many of Thaksin's economic policies were ended, the OTOP program was rebranded, the Government Lottery Office's program was deemed illegal, and the government nationalised several media outlets and energy companies. However, economists from the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) published a report indicating that many of the populist policies had not boosted the economy and some were by coincidence.^[67]

Educational policies

According to World Bank Thailand has recentralized rather than decentralized during his administration.^[68]

One of Thaksin's educational reforms was school decentralisation, as mandated by the 1997 Constitution.^[69] It was to delegate school management from the over-centralized and bureaucratised Ministry of Education to Tambon Administrative Organizations (TAOs), but met with massive widespread opposition from Thailand's 700,000 teachers, who would be deprived of their status as civil servants. Teachers also feared that TAOs lacked the ability to manage schools. In the face of massive teacher protests and several threats of school closure, Thaksin compromised and gave teachers whose schools were transferred to TAO management two years to transfer to other schools.^[70]

Other intended policy changes included learning reform and related curricular decentralisation, mostly through greater use of holistic education and less use of rote learning.^[71]

To increase access to universities by lower income people, Thaksin initiated the Student Loan Fund (SLF) and Income Contingency Loan (ICL) programs. He initiated the ICL program to increase access to higher education, whereby needy students could secure a loan to support their studies from vocational to university levels. Thai banks had traditionally not given educational loans. The ICL, however, required recipients to start repayments when their salaries reached 16,000 baht a month, with interest equivalent to inflation from the day the loan was granted. The SLF had an eligibility limit on family income, but interest was 1 per cent starting a year after graduation. The programs were merged and the income limit modified after Thaksin's government was overthrown.^[72]

Thaksin was one of the first supporters of Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project, with the Thai Ministry of Education committing to purchase 600,000 units.^[73] The junta later cancelled the project.

Thaksin also initiated the controversial "One District, One Dream School" project, aimed at developing the quality of schools to ensure that every district had at least one high-quality school. It was criticised, with claims that the only beneficiaries were Thaksin and companies selling computers and educational equipment. Many schools fell deeply into debt in implementing the project, receiving inadequate financial support from the central government.^[74][75]

In addition, he altered the state university entrance system, which had relied exclusively on nationally standardised exams. Thaksin pushed for greater weighting of senior high-school grades in the hope of focusing students on classroom learning rather than private entrance exam tutoring.

Healthcare policies

Thaksin initiated two key healthcare policies: subsidised universal health care (UHC) in 2002 and low-cost universal access to anti-retroviral HIV medication (ARVs). Thaksin's 30 baht per visit UHC program won the praise of the general public, but was criticised by many physicians and officials.^[76][77] Prior to the program's introduction, a large portion of the population had no health insurance and only limited access to healthcare. The program helped increase healthcare access from 76% of the population to 96%.^[78] At its outset, UHC was reviled as a "populist" policy. Post-coup public health minister Mongkol Na Songkhla called the 30 baht program a "marketing gimmick".^[79] Nearly half of UHC patients were dissatisfied with the treatment they received.^[76] The program has downsides: excessive workloads for health care providers, crowded waiting rooms, and insufficient time spent diagnosing each patient, and costs have tripled from 56 million baht in 2006 to 166 million baht in 2019, but still remain below one percent of GDP.

The War on Drugs

On 14 January 2003, Thaksin launched a campaign to rid "every square inch of the country" of drugs in three months.^[80] It consisted of changing the punishment policy for drug addicts, setting provincial arrest and seizure targets including "blacklists", awarding government officials for achieving targets and threatening punishment for those who failed to make the quota, targeting dealers, and "ruthless" implementation. In the first three months, Human Rights Watch reports that 2,275 people were extrajudicially executed.^[81][82] The government claimed that only around 50 of the deaths were at the hands of the police, the rest being drug traffickers who were being silenced by their dealers and their dealers' dealers. Human rights critics claimed a large number were extrajudicially executed.^{[83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95][96][97]} The majority of these individuals were listed on the government's blacklist, but there is no evidence to suggest that they were actually involved in the drug trade. The blacklist was unreliable, with some drug dealers not being listed and many individuals who were listed having no involvement in the drug trade. The government encouraged community members to report drug users and dealers to authorities, who would then put the names in a box for the government to review. This led to confusion and mistakes, including the inclusion of innocent individuals on the blacklist. There were also instances of people using the blacklist for revenge against rivals.^[98]

King Bhumibol, in a 2003 birthday speech attempted to criticize the Prime Minister in a subtle manner by assuming some accountability for the casualties of the war on drug:^[99]

"แต่เข้าใจว่า เป็นซูเปอร์ซีอีโอ เราก็ลงท้าย เราก็รับผิดชอบทั้งหมด ประชาชนทั้งประเทศ โยนให้พระเจ้าอยู่หัวรับผิดชอบหมด ซึ่งผิดรัฐธรรมนูญนะ รัฐธรรมนูญบอกว่า พระเจ้าอยู่หัวไม่รับผิดชอบอะไรเลย นี่ท่านแถวนี้ ก็เป็นนักกฎหมาย แล้วกฎหมายก็บอกพระเจ้าอยู่หัว ไม่รับผิดชอบอะไรเลย ตกลงเราไม่รับผิดชอบประเทศชาติ เมืองไทยไม่มีใครรับผิดชอบเลย ใครจะรับผิดชอบ ลำบากอย่างนี้ แต่ว่าเชื่อว่าท่านพูดเล่น ท่านรับผิดชอบ ในที่สุดท่านก็ต้องรับผิดชอบอีก ๒,๕๐๐ คน แล้วก็ ๒,๕๐๐ คน ท่านก็ต้อง ตอนนี้จะต้องไปถามท่านผู้บัญชาการตำรวจแห่งชาติว่า จำแนกออกเป็นอย่างไร ไอ้ ๒,๕๐๐ คน แล้วจำแนกไปจำแนกมา ประกาศให้ประชาชนทราบ "But understand that as you are super CEO, but we are responsible for everything. The public, the entire country, places the responsibility on the king. However, this is against the law. The law states that the king is not responsible for anything. You in the front row, as a lawyer, also know that the law states that the king is not responsible for anything. In summary, the king is not responsible for the country, and no one in Thailand is responsible. Who will take responsibility for such a difficult situation? But we believe you (in the front row) are joking, and you are responsible. In the end, you will also have to take responsibility for 2,500 people. And then 2,500 people, you will also have to... now you will have to go ask the national police chief if they can distinguish between those who were killed by the state and those who were killed by civilians. Is it possible for the police to distinguish between those who were killed by the state and those who were killed by civilians?"

Bhumibol also asked the commander of the police to investigate the killings.^[100] Police Commander Sant Sarutanond reopened investigations into the deaths, and again claimed that few of the deaths were at the hands of the police.

The war on drugs was widely criticised by the international community. Thaksin requested that the UN Commission on Human Rights send a special envoy to evaluate the situation, but said in an interview, "The United Nations is not my father. I am not worried about any UN visit to Thailand on this issue."^[101]

After the 2006 coup, the military junta appointed a committee to investigate the anti-drug campaign.^[102] Former Attorney General Kanit Na Nakorn led the committee. Concerning the committee's results The Economist reported in January 2008: "Over half of those killed in 2003 had no links to the drugs trade. The panel blamed the violence on a government 'shoot-to-kill' policy based on flawed blacklists. But far from leading to the prosecutions of those involved, its findings have been buried. The outgoing interim prime minister, Surayud Chulanont, took office vowing to right Mr Thaksin's wrongs. Yet this week he said there was insufficient evidence to take legal action over the killings. It is easy to see why the tide has turned. Sunai Phasuk, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, a lobbying group, says that the panel's original report named the politicians who egged on the gunmen. But after the PPP won last month's elections, those names were omitted."^[103]

While he was opposition leader, Abhisit Vejjajiva accused Thaksin of crimes against humanity for his alleged role in the campaign. After being appointed Prime Minister, Abhisit opened an investigation into the killings, claiming that a successful probe could lead to prosecution by the International Criminal Court. Former attorney-general Kampee Kaewcharoen led the investigation and the investigation committee was approved by Abhisit's Cabinet. Abhisit denied that the probe was politically motivated. Witnesses and victims were urged to report to the Department of Special Investigation, which operated directly under Abhisit's control.^{[81][104][105]}

Energy policies

In energy policy, the Thaksin government continued the Chuan Leekpai government's privatisation agenda, but with important changes. Whereas the Chuan government's post-Asian financial crisis policies sought economic efficiency through industry fragmentation and wholesale power pool competition,^[106] Thaksin's policies aimed to create national champions that could reliably support stronger economic growth and become important players in regional energy markets.^[107] Thaksin also initiated a policy to encourage renewable energy and energy conservation. Many Thaksin-era energy policies were reversed following the 2006 coup.

South Thailand insurgency

A resurgence in violence began in 2001 in the three southernmost provinces of Thailand with their Muslim, ethnic Malay majority. There is much controversy about the causes of this escalation. Attacks after 2001 concentrated on police, the military, and schools, but civilians (including Buddhist monks) are also regular targets. Thaksin was widely criticised for his management of the situation.

Of three key controversial incidents, the first was the Army's storming of the Krue Se Mosque, where protesters had holed up and were killed.^[108]

The second, in October 2004, was the killing of 84 Muslim demonstrators at Tak Bai, when the Army broke up a peaceful protest.^[109] Hundreds of detainees were forced at gunpoint to lie shackled and prone in Army trucks, stacked like cordwood. The trucks were delayed from moving to the detainment area for hours. The 84 victims were reported to have been asphyxiated, crushed or died of overheating. The precise nature and cause of death have been subject to controversy and doubt because of lack of transparency and absence of depth in investigations made. There are other reports of many more deaths but these have not been substantiated.

In a third incident, Muslim lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit disappeared, allegedly abducted and killed by police for his role in defending alleged insurgents who claimed to have been tortured. Despite witness testimony and forensic evidence during the court of police investigations and court trials, all allegations against police said to be involved were dropped and the enforced disappearance case closed.

Thaksin announced an escalation of military and police activity in the region.^[110] In July 2005, Thaksin enacted an Emergency Decree to manage the three troubled provinces. Several human rights organisations expressed their concerns that the decree might be used to violate civil liberties.^[111]

In March 2005, Thaksin established the National Reconciliation Commission, chaired by former Prime Minister Anand Panyarachun to oversee efforts to bring peace to the troubled South. In its final report in June 2006, the commission proposed introducing elements of Islamic law and making Pattani-Malay (Yawi) an official language in the region along with Thai. The Thaksin administration assigned a government committee to study the report, but nothing came of it.^[112]

Thaksin blamed Malaysia's jungle that has occasionally been used to train Islamic militants to cause violence in the south and Indonesia for being an inspiration to the militants.^[113]

Administrative reform

One of the most visible of Thaksin's administrative reforms was the restructuring of government department and ministries, labelled the "big bang." It was hailed as a "historic breakthrough" and "the first major reorganization of ministries since King Chulalongkorn set up Thailand's modern system of departmental government in 1897." Plans had been studied for years to loosen perceived rigidities and inertia of the old system but were not implemented until the Thaksin government.^[114] https://web.archive.org/web/20071016205115/http://etna.mcot.net/query.php?nid=19066

The restructuring was designed to streamline the bureaucracy and focus it on performance and results. New ministries were carved out in Social and Human Security Development, Tourism and Sports, Natural Resources and Environment, Information and Communication Technology, and Culture.

Thaksin transformed the role of provincial governors to that of active policy managers. Historically, central government ministries operated in the provinces through field offices headed by senior officials who reported back to Bangkok, while the Interior Ministry appointed provincial governors whose role was largely ceremonial.

A key component of Thaksin's administrative reform policy, the "CEO-governors" epitomised what was called his "transformation of the operating style of the traditional bureaucracy into a more results-oriented instrument that would be responsive." Piloted in 2001 and introduced in all provinces in October 2003, CEO-governors were put in charge of planning and co-ordinating provincial development and became accountable for overall provincial affairs. The "CEO governors" were assisted by "provincial CFOs" from the Ministry of Finance who reported directly to each governor. Governors were authorised to raise funds by issuing bonds and were given an intensive training course.^[115]

The CEO-governors of all 75 provinces at that time came from the appointment of the Minister of Interior Affairs and had greater authority in managing people and money. There was even a special budget allocated, called the "CEO-governor budget," which amounted to tens of million baht. In reality, it was found that this budget was managed and shared among the local members of parliament and aimed at achieving political goals, leading to criticism that it was a budget used to gain support for Thaksin government. It was even accused by academics of being a "hired vision writer" for the government.^[116]

After the coup, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, drafted the royal decree on the management and preparation of budget plans for the development of provincial and district groups starting in 2008. The "CEO-governor budget" was eliminated and thereby preventing the local members of the parliament from spending the budget to gain votes.^[116]

The Thaksin era also saw the opening of a number of government one-stop service centres to reduce red tape for anything from investment to utilities and ID-card processing.

Foreign policies

Thaksin with the President of Russia Vladimir Putin at APEC Bangkok 2003 on 21 October 2003 in Bangkok

Thaksin initiated negotiations for several free trade agreements with China, Australia, Bahrain, India, and the US. The latter especially was criticised, with claims that high-cost Thai industries could be wiped out.^[117]

Thailand joined the US-led invasion of Iraq, sending a 423-strong humanitarian contingent. It withdrew its troops on 10 September 2004. Two Thai soldiers died in Iraq in an insurgent attack.

Thaksin announced that Thailand would forsake foreign aid, and work with donor countries to assist in the development of neighbours in the Greater Mekong Sub-region.^[118]

Thaksin was repeatedly attacked for acting undiplomatically with foreign leaders and the international community. Besides his famous swipe at the UN (see The 'war on drugs' above), there were also allegations of gaffes at international meetings.^[119]

Thaksin was keen to position Thailand as a regional leader, initiating various development projects in poorer neighbouring countries like Laos. More controversially, he established close, friendly ties with the Burmese dictatorship, including extending the impoverished country a 4 billion baht credit line so it could conclude a satellite telecom deal with his family business.^[120]

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra at Government House

Thaksin energetically supported his former foreign minister Surakiart Sathirathai's somewhat improbable campaign to become UN Secretary General.

Suvarnabhumi Airport

Despite debate and long abandonment of the plan due to the stability of the ground for the location of the airport, the Thaksin government pushed to complete the construction of the new Suvarnabhumi International Airport. The airport was opened a week after Thaksin's government was overthrown.

Members of Thaksin's government were accused of corruption in the Suvarnabhumi Airport project. These allegations were used by the military junta to justify the 2006 coup.^[121] The junta initiated several investigations into the airport. Nevertheless, investigative panels found that damage to the airport was "minute" and "common." The cost of repairing the damage was estimated at less than one percent of the total airport cost. The junta was accused by its opponents of delaying airport repairs and intensifying the airport's problems to pin further blame on the Thaksin government.

Criticism

2005 re-election

Under the slogans "Four Years of Repair – Four years of Reconstruction" and "Building Opportunities", Thaksin and the TRT won landslide victories in February 2005 elections, winning 374 of 500 seats in parliament. The election had the highest voter turnout in Thai history. But his second term was soon beset by protests, with claims that he presided over a "parliamentary dictatorship".^[132]

The political crisis was catalysed by accusations published by media mogul and popular talk show host Sondhi Limthongkul, a former Thaksin supporter who had broken with him. These included accusations that Thaksin:

• Restricted press freedom by suing Sondhi after he printed a sermon by a Luang Ta Maha Bua, a controversial monk.
• Masterminded the desecration of the famous Erawan Shrine

Sale of Shin Corporation

On 23 January 2006, the Shinawatra family sold their entire stake in Shin Corporation to Temasek Holdings. The Shinawatra and Damapong families netted about 73 billion baht (about US$1.88 billion) tax-free from the sale, using a regulation that made individuals who sell shares on the stock exchange exempt from capital gains tax.^[133] Thaksin was the target of accusations of corruption for selling forbidden national assets such as national utility company to a foreign entity in exchange for personal profits and kickbacks. Thai laws at the time disallowed the sale of integral assets of national importance to the public or to any foreign entity, but Thaksin amended the laws to allow such sale.

Protests followed the Shin Corporation sale, led by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), whose leaders included Chamlong and Sondhi. Numbers soon swelled to tens of thousands occupying the area around Government House in Bangkok.

House dissolution and election

Thaksin announced the dissolution of parliament on 24 February 2006. General elections were scheduled for 2 April.

Thaksin was attacked for calling for snap elections, which in effect prevented any member of parliament from changing parties. In an editorial, The Nation noted it that, "It fails to take into consideration a major fallacy of the concept [of democracy], particularly in a less-developed democracy like ours, in which the impoverished, poorly informed masses are easily manipulated by people of his ilk. And Thaksin's manipulation has been well documented."^[134]

Thaksin's TRT Party won the widely boycotted elections, gaining 462 seats in parliament, with a ratio of yes-voters to no-voters of 16:10, not counting non-voters.^[135]

However, by-elections were needed for 40 TRT candidates who failed to win the minimum 20 percent required by the 1997 Constitution in uncontested races.^[136][137] The Democrat Party refused to contest them^[136] and, along with the PAD, petitioned the Central Administrative Court to cancel them.^[138] Chamlong Srimuang declared that the PAD would ignore the elections and "go on rallying until Thaksin resigns and Thailand gets a royally appointed prime minister".^[139]

Thaksin had announced on 4 April 2006 that he would not accept the post of prime minister after parliament reconvened, but would continue as caretaker prime minister until then.^[140] He then delegated his functions to caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Chidchai Wannasathit, moved out of Government House, and went on vacation.

Elections were held on 25 April and resulted in the TRT winning 25 of the constituencies and losing two. Yet another round of by-elections on 29 April was scheduled for 13 constituencies. The Thai Rak Thai Party was later accused and found guilty of paying smaller parties to contest the election to fulfill the 20 percent rule, while the Democrat Party was accused of paying smaller parties not to. The by-elections were suspended by the Constitutional Court while it deliberated whether or not to annul the main elections. In press interviews in exile, Thaksin was to insist on his technical majority.^[141]

Invalidation of the elections

On 8 May 2006, the Constitutional Court ruled 8–6 to invalidate the April elections based on the awkward positioning of voting booths. The ruling was called a landmark case in "judicial activism".^[142] The Democrat Party, which had boycotted the April elections, said they were now ready to contest an October election.^[143]

A new election was ordered and later set for 15 October 2006. The court found the Election Commissioners guilty of malfeasance and jailed them. But the election was cancelled when the military seized power on 19 September.

The ouster

The Thaksin government faced allegations of corruption, authoritarianism, treason, conflicts of interest, acting non-diplomatically, and muzzling of the press.^[144] Thaksin was accused of tax evasion, lèse majesté (insulting King Bhumibol), and selling assets of Thai companies to international investors.^[59][60] Independent bodies, including Amnesty International, criticised Thaksin's human rights record. Thaksin was also charged for concealing his wealth during his premiership.^[145]

Protests by the People's Alliance for Democracy massed in 2006, and on 19 September 2006 a military junta which later called itself the Council for National Security (CNS) replaced Thaksin's caretaker government in a coup while he was abroad. The Constitutional Tribunal dissolved the Thai Rak Thai party for electoral fraud ex post facto, banning him and TRT executives from politics for five years.^[146] The CNS-appointed Assets Examination Committee froze Thaksin and his family's assets in Thailand, totalling 76 billion baht (US$2.2 billion), claiming he had become unusually wealthy while in office.^[147][148] Thaksin and his wife had declared assets totalling 15.1 billion baht when he took office in 2001, although he had transferred many of his assets to his children and associates before taking office.^[149]

Thaksin returned to Thailand on 28 February 2008, after the People's Power Party, which he supported, won the post-coup elections.^[150] But after visiting Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympics, he did not return to hear the final supreme court sentence and applied for asylum in the United Kingdom. This was refused, after which he had to move about from one country to another. In October 2008, the Thai Supreme Court found him guilty of a conflict of interest and sentenced him in absentia to two years imprisonment.^[151]

The People's Power Party was later dissolved by the Supreme Court, but party members regrouped to form the Pheu Thai Party, which Thaksin also supported. Thaksin is a supporter, and alleged bankroller, of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (aka "Red Shirts").^[152][153] The government revoked Thaksin's passport for his role in the UDD's protests during Songkran 2009.^{[154][155][156]} On 26 February 2010, the Supreme Court seized 46 billion baht of his frozen assets, after finding him guilty of abnormal wealth. In 2009 it was announced that Thaksin had obtained Montenegrin citizenship through that country's economic citizenship program.^{[1][157][158][159]}

Thai Rak Thai Party

Many Thai Rak Thai party members were reported to have resigned from the party in the aftermath of the coup for fear that the party would be dissolved by the junta and its members banned from politics. These included Somsak Thepsuthin and 100 members of the Wang Nam Yen faction. It was not clear whether Suriya Jungrungreangkit, another influential member of the faction, would also resign. Sontaya Kunplome was reported to have led 20 members of the Chonburi faction in resigning from the party.^[164][165]

On 2 October 2006 Thaksin and his former deputy Somkid Jatusipitak resigned from the TRT.^[166][167] Chaturon Chaisang took over as party head.

The TRT was dissolved on 30 May 2007 by the Constitutional Tribunal, which banned over 100 of its executives, including Thaksin, from politics for five years, based on charges that two party executives (Defense Minister Thammarak and Pongsak Raktapongpaisarn) bribed a smaller party to stand in the April 2006 election. The Democrat party was cleared on a similar charge.

2006 Bangkok New Year's Eve bombings

On 31 December 2006 and 1 January 2007, several bombs exploded in Bangkok, killing three and wounding a number of bystanders. Prime Minister General Surayud Chulanont accused "those who lost power as a result of the military takeover" of masterminding the bombings, but did not directly identify Thaksin. Thaksin went on CNN to publicly deny any involvement in the bombings. The government did not make any arrests in the case.^[168]

Legal charges

Thaksin's diplomatic passport was revoked on 31 December 2006 after the junta accused him of engaging in political activities while in exile. Thai embassies were ordered not to aid him in his travels.

A junta-appointed Assets Examination Committee (AEC) froze Thaksin's assets and attempted to bring charges against him. The AEC was criticised for being stacked with anti-Thaksin appointees. At one point, AEC Secretary Kaewsan Atibodhi claimed that "evidence and witnesses are useless", when an AEC panel recommended legal action without hearing 300 witnesses or considering 100 additional pieces of evidence.^[169] The AEC froze Thaksin's assets.

In January 2007, the Financial Institutions Development Fund (FIDF) complied with an AEC request to file a charge against Thaksin and his wife for their purchase of four 772 million baht plots of land from the FIDF in 2003. The charge was based on an alleged violation of Article 100 of the National Counter Corruption Act, which prohibits government officials and their spouses from entering into or having interests in contracts made with state agencies under their authority.

The AEC also accused Thaksin of issuing an unlawful cabinet resolution approving the spending of state funds to buy rubber saplings.

In March 2007, the Office of the Attorney-General charged Thaksin's wife and brother-in-law with conspiring to evade taxes of 546 million baht (US$15.6 million) in a 1997 transfer of Shin Corporation shares.

The AEC found Thaksin guilty of malfeasance for obstructing competition by imposing an excise tax on telecom operators. Thaksin's Cabinet had approved the relevant executive decree in 2003.

Request for asylum in the United Kingdom

Wanted poster for Thaksin Shinawatra, issued by the Royal Thai Police on 13 August 2008, after his flight to London and failure to appear in court on 11 August 2008

On 10 August 2008, Thaksin and Potjaman violated their bail terms by attending the 2008 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony in Beijing.^[189] Stating that he wished to return to Thailand but claimed it was not currently safe for him and his family.^[190][191] Thaksin sought political asylum in the United Kingdom,^[192] claiming his political enemies were interfering with the judiciary. There is no evidence that he proceeded with his request and his asylum case was neither approved nor declined.

The Thailand Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions issued a second arrest warrant on 16 September 2008 against Thaksin over another of the four pending corruption cases and ordered suspension of the trial.^[193][194] Several more arrest warrants were issued over his subsequent non-appearance at various corruption trials.^{[195][196][197][198] [199]}

Ratchadaphisek land verdict

On 21 October 2008, the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions ruled that Thaksin, while prime minister, abused his power to help his wife buy public land at auction, and sentenced him to two years in jail.^[200]

Soon after, Thaksin told Reuters, "I have been informed of the result. I had long anticipated that it would turn out this way", and added that the case was politically motivated.^[201]

Chief prosecutor Seksan Bangsombun called on Britain to extradite him.^[202] Thaksin now denied he was seeking political asylum in Britain.^[203]

Self-imposed exile

On 10 November 2008, a Philippine spokesman said his government would "politely" turn down any request for political refuge from Thaksin due to Manila's "friendly" relations with Bangkok.^{[204][205][206]}

The British Government Home Office, meanwhile, revoked Potjaman and Thaksin's visas due to their convictions, while the Bangkok British Embassy e-mailed airlines asking them to disallow either of them to board flights to Britain.^[207] In late 2008, Arabian Business reported that the UK froze US$4.2 billion of his assets in the UK. The UK government did not confirm or deny this claim.^[208]

Thaksin had reportedly considered sanctuaries such as China, the Bahamas, Nicaragua, and several other countries in South America and Africa. Reports said the Shinawatras were granted honorary citizenship by the Bahamas and Nicaragua, and were building a £5.5 million home in China. As of late-May 2009, he reportedly remained in Dubai.^{[209][210][211]} A spokesman claimed Thaksin was travelling on six passports, none of them Thai.^[212] In December 2008 Thaksin obtained a residency permit for Germany^[213] which was subsequently withdrawn on 28 May 2009 when the German government became aware of the arrangement. Thaksin then obtained status as a diplomat of Nicaragua.^[213][214] Guido Westerwelle, German foreign minister, lifted the travel restriction banning Thaksin from entering Germany on 15 July 2011 after the election victory of Thaksin's proxy party.^[213]

In a November 2009 interview, Thaksin told The Times that he was living in Dubai, still had access to about US$100 million of his money outside of Thailand, and was investing in gold mines, diamond polishing, and lottery licenses in various countries.^[215]

Songkran unrest

In mid-April 2009, violent protests of mostly Thaksin supporters calling themselves the National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) led to the cancellation of the ASEAN summit in Pattaya and a declaration of a state of emergency in Bangkok. Thaksin had given encouragement at UDD rallies via satellite and phone-in link, at one point calling for a "people's revolution". Following suppression of the protests he claimed to have merely been offering "moral support".^[152][216]

Thaksin supported protests by the UDD against the Abhisit Vejjajiva government, demanding Thaksin be allowed to return free from all the earlier corruption charges.^{[153][154][155][156]} Thaksin denied leading the UDD, claiming he only gave them "moral support".^[152]

Money laundering allegations

In April 2009, Privy Councilor General Pichitr Kullavanijaya reported he had been informed by former US ambassador to Thailand Ralph L. Boyce that Thaksin had laundered 100 billion baht (US$2.8 billion) through Cayman Island bank accounts to organise the anti-government protests. Boyce himself said that he had "...no idea why he was cited as a knowledgeable source about where Thaksin may or may not have made deposits, and that he has no such information."^[217]

Economic advisor to Cambodia

On 4 November 2009, it was announced that Thaksin had been appointed as special advisor to the Cambodian government and Hun Sen and stated that Cambodia would refuse to extradite Thaksin because it considered him a victim of political persecution. On 5 November 2009, both countries recalled their ambassadors.^[218]

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva stated this was "the first diplomatic retaliation measure".^[218] Stating Cambodia was interfering in Thailand's internal affairs and as a result all bilateral agreements would be reviewed.^{[218][219][220]} Sok An, a member of the Council of Ministers and Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia, said Thaksin's appointment is a decision internal to Cambodia and "conforms to international practice".^[220] The mutual withdrawal of ambassadors is the most severe diplomatic action to have occurred between the two countries.^[220]

Frozen asset seizure

Prior to the verdict

On 26 February 2010, the Thai Supreme Court was scheduled to render its verdict on whether to seize Thaksin's Thai assets, worth 76 billion baht frozen by the AEC after the coup. The AEC froze the assets under the authority of Announcement No. 30 of the military junta.^[147] Tensions ran high throughout Thailand. Tens of thousands of government security forces were deployed, particularly in routes leading to Bangkok. However, the UDD denied that it would rally on the date of the verdict.^[225][226] The nine Supreme Court judges had to make a judgment on accusations of abnormal wealth through policy corruption. Policy corruption, was defined by the court as the abuse of powers by implementing economic policies that, while in themselves legal and of potential benefit to society and the economy, also aided companies that were owned in part by the policy maker.^[122] The prosecution claimed that Thaksin abused his powers five times while premier.

The first and last pages of the verdict with the signatures of the nine supreme court judges

Transfer of Shin Corp. Shares

The law does not allow the prime minister to run a side business while holding office. Charges were pressed against Thaksin on wealth concealment while in office.^[239][240] Prior to the wealth declaration of Thaksin and his family when he took office, there had been an appeal to The National Anti-Corruption Commission that there were some suspicions about the numbers in the report.

National honours

The list of national honours received by Thaksin Shinawatra has been arranged as per the Thai honours order of precedence.^[248]

•  Thailand:
  • 1996 – Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant
  • 1995 – Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand
  • 2001 – Knight Grand Cross (First Class) of the Most Admirable Order of the Direkgunabhorn
  • 2002 – Knight Grand Commander of the Most Illustrious Order of Chula Chom Klao
  • 2003 – Boy Scout Citation Medal of Vajira, First Class

All royal decorations were recalled by King Rama X per the Royal Gazette published on 29 March 2019^[248]

Foreign honours

•  Cambodia:
  • Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Sahametrei (2001)^[249]
•  Bahrain:
  • Member 1st Class of the King Hamad Order of the Renaissance (2002)^[250]
•  Brunei:
  • First Class of the Most Blessed Order of Loyalty to the State of Brunei (2002)^[251]
•  Sweden:
  • Commander Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Polar Star (2003)^[252]
•  Netherlands:
  • Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau (2004)^[253]
•  Peru:
  • Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun of Peru (2004)

Academic rank

• 2007 – Visiting Professor of Takushoku University in Tokyo, Japan^{[254][255][256]}

Awards

• Asean Business Man of the Year, from ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (AIPR), in 1992^[257]
• Telecommunication Development for Social Welfare Award of 1993 from Telecommunication Society of Thailand^[258]
• The 1993 Outstanding Telecom Man of the Year Award, honored by the Singapore Business Times as 1 of 12 Leading Asian Businessmen^[259]
• Asian CEO of the Year^[260]
• Honorary Doctor of Arts (Communication Arts) (Thammasart University, Thailand)^[260]
• First Thai to be granted "Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellowship" (Singapore)^[260]
• 1 of 50 Influential people in The World from Time magazine^[261]
• 1 of 3 Thai-Filipino Relations Goodwill from Ambassadors Philippines Embassy in Thailand^[260]
• Outstanding Criminal Justice Alumnus Awards from Sam Houston State University^[260]
• Distinguished Alumni Award from Sam Houston State University^[260]
• The honorary award from the Mass Media Photographer Association of Thailand^[259]
• International Forgiveness Award 2004^[262]
• Honorary doctorate degree from Plekhanov Russian Academy of Economics^[4]
• The ABLF Statesman Award 2012^[263]