Chatumongol Sonakul

Mom Ratchawongse Chatumongol Sonakul (Thai: จัตุมงคล โสณกุล) is Thailand's former Labour Minister and a former permanent secretary of the Ministry of Finance of Thailand, and Governor of the Bank of Thailand.

Mom Rajawongse Chatumongol Sonakul
จัตุมงคล โสณกุล
Chatumongol in 2019
Minister of Labour
In office 10 July 2019 – 20 July 2020
Prime Minister	Prayut Chan-o-cha
Preceded by	Adul Sangsingkeo
Succeeded by	Suchart Chomklin
Governor of the Bank of Thailand
In office 7 May 1998 – 30 May 2001
Preceded by	Chaiwat Wiboonsawat
Succeeded by	Pridiyathorn Devakula
Personal details
Born	(1943-09-28) 28 September 1943 Bangkok, Siam
Political party	Action Coalition for Thailand (until 2020)
Other political affiliations	Democrat Party (until 2018)
Spouses	Ratchani Kachaseni ​ (divorced)​ Boonwipa Sonakul
Children	Mingmongkol Sonakul Ornmongkol Sonakul Apimongkol Sonakul
Residence	Bangkok
Alma mater	Cambridge University Harvard University
Profession	Economist

Life and career

Chatumongkol is a descendant of Thailand's royal family (great-grandson of King Rama IV) and belongs to the noble house of Sonakul. He was educated at Harrow School and is an honors graduate of Cambridge University in England for engineering and economics and Harvard University in John F. Kennedy School of Government. He rose up through the civil service through the Finance Ministry, initially serving as Director-General of the Tax Department. Later he rose to be the ministry's deputy permanent secretary.

He was the permanent secretary (the most senior civil servant) in the Ministry of Finance from 1 October 1995 to 28 July 1997. This was during the flotation of the baht, which led to a massive devaluation, the Asian Financial Crisis, and a long period of International Monetary Fund intervention. He was dismissed by the Chavalit Yongchaiyudh government soon after the devaluation.

During the Democrat-led government that followed, Chatumongkol was appointed Governor of the Bank of Thailand, Thailand's central bank. He held this position from 1998 to 30 May 2001, when he was dismissed by the newly elected Thai Rak Thai-led government.

After his dismissal, Chatumongkol became a vocal critic of TRT leader Thaksin Shinawatra. He denigrated Thaksin's populist job-creating policies, claiming that "Any attempt to create petty jobs is unnecessary... Policies should focus on providing machines and know-how."

After a military junta overthrew Thaksin's government and canceled scheduled general elections in 2006, Chatumongkol was one of its favorites for the Premiership; eventually, General Surayud Chulanont was chosen by King Bhumibol. He hinted that if the Democrat Party won post-coup elections, he would enter the political arena in support of the Democrats. However, the Democrats were defeated in the elections.

When the Democrat Party gained control of the government in 2008, it appointed Chatumongkol as chairman of the Board of the Bank of Thailand.

He noted that under Thaksin's populist policies, "people who got money did not think hard about how to use it. People who got motorcycles became motorcycle taxi drivers. Many got rich. But when more people became motorcycle taxi drivers, they ended up earning just 100 baht [approximately US$3] a day. I used to survey some of those drivers. Many said they would not vote for [Thaksin's] Thai Rak Thai party anymore."

On 20 July 2020, Chatumongol resigned from the leader of Action Coalition for Thailand. For this reason, he dropped out of the position of Minister of Labor.

Personal life

His son, Mom Luang Apimongkol Sonakul, was elected to be a Democrat Party MP in Bangkok in the former seat of Charoen Kantawongs.

Awards and decorations

National honours

• Thailand:
  • Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant
  • Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand
  • Knight Grand Commander (Second Class, higher grade) of the Most Illustrious Order of Chula Chom Klao
  • Chakrabarti Mala Medal