Anutin Charnvirakul (Thai: อนุทิน ชาญวีรกูล, RTGS: Anuthin Chanwirakun; born 13 September 1966) is a Thai politician who has served as the Minister of Interior and Deputy Prime Minister since 2023. He was the Minister of Public Health in Prayut Chan-o-cha's government and was the prominent public figure in charge of managing the COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand.[3][4]
Anutin Charnvirakul | |||||||||||
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อนุทิน ชาญวีรกูล | |||||||||||
_(cropped).jpg) Anutin in 2023 | |||||||||||
| Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand | |||||||||||
| Assumed office 10 July 2019 | |||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Prayut Chan-o-cha Srettha Thavisin Paetongtarn Shinawatra | ||||||||||
| Minister of Interior | |||||||||||
| Assumed office 1 September 2023 | |||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Srettha Thavisin Paetongtarn Shinawatra | ||||||||||
| Preceded by | Anupong Paochinda | ||||||||||
| Minister of Public Health | |||||||||||
| In office 10 July 2019 – 1 September 2023 | |||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Prayut Chan-o-cha | ||||||||||
| Preceded by | Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn[1] | ||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Chonlanan Srikaew | ||||||||||
| Deputy Minister of Public Health | |||||||||||
| In office 11 March 2005 – 19 September 2006 | |||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Thaksin Shinawatra | ||||||||||
| Deputy Minister of Commerce | |||||||||||
| In office 6 October 2004 – 11 March 2005 | |||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Thaksin Shinawatra | ||||||||||
| Leader of the Bhumjaithai Party | |||||||||||
| Assumed office 14 October 2012 | |||||||||||
| Member of the House of Representatives | |||||||||||
| Assumed office 24 March 2019 | |||||||||||
| Constituency | Party-list | ||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||
| Born | 13 September 1966 Phra Nakhon province (present-day Bangkok), Thailand | ||||||||||
| Political party | Bhumjaithai (2012–present) | ||||||||||
| Other political affiliations | Thai Rak Thai (2001–2007) | ||||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Sanongnuch Wattanawarangkul (divorced) Sasithorn Chandrasomboon (divorced) Watthanon Niramit | ||||||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||||||
| Parent(s) | Chavarat Charnvirakul Tassanee Chanweerakul | ||||||||||
| Alma mater | Hofstra University (BEng) Thammasat University (MBA) | ||||||||||
| Signature |  | ||||||||||
| Nickname | Noo (หนู) | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 陳錫堯[2] | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 陈锡尧 | ||||||||||
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Anutin has been a member of several political parties such as the National Development Party, Thai Rak Thai Party and is currently the leader of the Bhumjaithai Party.[5]
Early life and family
editNicknamed Noo (Thai: หนู; literally: Rattus), Anutin is the son of Chavarat Charnvirakul, former Minister of the Interior in the government of Abhisit Vejjajiva. His family is of Thai Chinese descent with ancestry from Guangdong.[6] He was first married to Satannuch Charnvirakul and has two children. His second marriage is to Sasitorn Charnvirakul. Anutin completed secondary education at Assumption College and higher education in engineering from Hofstra University in 1989.[7]
Anuthin is heir to a major construction company fortune. His family's company, Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction PCL, built several government mega-projects such as Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.[8] An engineer, Anuthin served as president of Sino-Thai.[9]
Political career
editIn 1996, he entered politics by becoming adviser to Prachuap Chaiyasan (the Minister of Foreign Affairs) and served as Deputy Minister of Public Health from 2004 to 2005 and Deputy Minister of Commerce in 2004. He was then banned from political office for five years due to his membership of the Thai Rak Thai Party.[9][10] Anutin then joined the Bhumjai Thai Party in 2012 after the expiration of the ban and was elected as the leader of the Bhumjai Thai Party on 14 October 2012.[11]
In the 2019 Thai general election, he was the Bhumjai Thai Party's candidate for prime minister.[10]
Anutin has been a leading proponent of medical marijuana.[12] In May 2022 he said his ministry would give away 1 million cannabis plants in June 2022 to Thai households for license-free cultivation.[13]
Controversy
editDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, Anutin made a series of derogatory comments disparaging foreigners.[14][15] Anutin wrote on a Twitter account, "...all you see are farangs ('Westerners'). They flee their own countries for the safety of Thailand. In Chiang Mai, 90% of Thais are wearing face masks, although none of the farangs are wearing masks." He went on to add, "This is the reason our country is being infected [by the SARS-CoV-2 virus]. We should be more careful of the farang than other Asians. At the moment it is winter in Europe and farang come to Thailand to hide from the [Covid-19] disease. Many farang dress dirtily and don't shower. All [Thai] hosts have to be very careful."[16]
Following a negative public reaction to Anutin's outburst, the Twitter account was deleted, after attracting hundreds of comments across various media platforms, criticizing his ill-considered remarks, with some commentators pointing out that Thailand did not appreciate the contribution made to its economy by foreign tourism.[17] Pressed on the matter, Anutin later claimed that he did not know who the Twitter account belonged to and that he did not post the comments, although he later apologised for them.[18] The Thai language news website Khaosod covered the incident in detail, showing a portion of the original comments before the Twitter account was deleted.[16]
A month prior to his March outburst, in February 2020, Anutin was criticised for remarking that foreigners should be kicked out of Thailand when he saw some who were not wearing face masks at an event at the Siam BTS station in Bangkok.[19] Later, hearing advice from the US Surgeon General, Dr Jerome Adams, that the wearing of masks was unnecessary for the uninfected, Anutin changed his opinion.[15]
Royal decorations
editAnutin has received the following royal decorations in the Honours System of Thailand:
Knight Grand Cordon of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant[20]
Knight Grand Cordon of The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand[21]
Knight Commander of the Most Illustrious Order of Chula Chom Klao
Order of the Direkgunabhorn, Silver Medal
King Rama X Royal Cypher Medal, Third Class
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References
edit- ^ "Name list of Minister of Public Health, Past-Present". Ministry of Public Health. Archived from the original on March 27, 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
- ^ "专程接机中国游客上热搜 泰国副总理：我是100%中国人后代". Sina Weibo. 2023-02-04. Archived from the original on 2023-02-25. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
- ^ "อนุทินระบุ สถานการณ์โควิดอยู่ภายใต้การควบคุม แนะประชาชนควรฉีดวัคซีนอย่างน้อย 4 เข็ม". THE STANDARD (in Thai). 2022-12-20. Retrieved 2024-02-25.
- ^ "ปลัดสธ. เผยกรณี "อนุทิน" ติดโควิดแม้ฉีดวัคซีนหลายเข็ม ชี้ติดเชื้อได้แต่อาการไม่รุนแรง". Hfocus.org (in Thai). Retrieved 2024-02-25.
- ^ "News Detail". www.matichon.co.th. Archived from the original on 2013-09-20. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
- ^ "The Hands-On Politician Hoping to Win Big in Thailand". TIME. 2023-04-10. Retrieved 2024-02-25.
- ^ "เปิดประวัติ "อนุทิน ชาญวีรกูล" วันที่เป็นนักการเมืองอาชีพ". PPTV36. 26 March 2019.
- ^ "Who Will Be Thailand's Next Prime Minister?". The Diplomat. Associated Press. 22 March 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- ^ a b Suksamran, Nauvarat (13 October 2012). "Anutin's career takes flight". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- ^ a b "อนุทิน ภูมิใจไทย จับขั้วพลังประชารัฐ ตั้งรัฐบาล หลังเล่นตัวนานกว่า 2 เดือน". Sanook. 25 May 2019.
- ^ "ประกาศนายทะเบียนพรรคการเมือง เรื่อง ตอบรับการเปลี่ยนแปลงคณะกรรมการบริหารพรรคภูมิใจไทย (จำนวน ๙ ราย)" (PDF). Government Gazette. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 27, 2019.
- ^ Somerset, Sara Brittany (17 November 2019). "Thailand Will Soon Allow Its Citizens To Grow Cannabis At Home To Sell To The Government". Forbes. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- ^ Ives, Mike; Suhartono, Muktita (2022-05-12). "Thailand Will Give Away 1 Million Weed Plants". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 22 May 2022. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
- ^ "Thailand News Today - March 13, 2020" – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ a b "Minister Anutin White Western Foreigners Tourists Public Face Masks". www.thaiexaminer.com. March 13, 2020.
- ^ a b "อนุทิน ทวีตแรงจวกฝรั่งสกปรกเข้าไทย สาเหตุตัวนำเชื้อ อ๋อย จวกกลับแรงเหยียด". 13 March 2020.
- ^ "Thailand's Wealth Inequality is the Highest in the World, What Does This Mean for Upcoming Elections?". www.aseantoday.com. 2019.
- ^ "Health Minister Denies Racist Tweet". thethaiger.com.
- ^ "Thai Minister Sorry For Threatening Tourists Not Wearing Masks". www.bloomberg.com. February 7, 2020.
- ^ ราชกิจจานุเบกษา ประกาศสำนักนายกรัฐมนตรี เรื่อง พระราชทานเครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์ (ชั้นต่ำกว่าสายสะพาย ชั้นสายสะพาย สมาชิกวุฒิสภา เนื่องในวโรกาสพระราชพิธีเฉลิมพระชนมพรรษา วันที่ ๕ ธันวาคม ๒๕๓๗)[full citation needed]
- ^ "ประกาศสำนักนายกรัฐมนตรี เรื่อง พระราชทานเครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์ (ชั้นสายสะพาย จำนวน ๔,๒๓๘ ราย)" (PDF). Government Gazette. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 2, 2010.