Thamanat Prompow

Thamanat holds a bachelor's degree from Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy, a master's degree in Buddhism from Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University and a master's in political science from Ramkhamhaeng University. He has a PhD in public administration from Calamus International University and California University FCE (CUFCE).{{cite web |title=Announcement |url=https://www.cufce.org/ |website=California University Foreign Credential Evaluation (CUFCE) |accessdate=13 September 2019}}{{cite news |title=Thamanat's PhD in spotlight |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/1748534/thamanats-phd-in-spotlight |accessdate=9 March 2020 |work=Bangkok Post |date=12 September 2019}} His dissertation, The forms of the local performance development and promotion with image and identity in order to increase the value-added and value-creation: a case study of Phayao Province was "posted" in the European Journal according to Thamanat.{{cite news |last1=Sattaburuth |first1=Aekarach |last2=Bangprapa |first2=Mongkol |title=Thamanat's PhD in spotlight |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/1748534/thamanats-phd-in-spotlight#cxrecs_s |accessdate=13 September 2019 |work=Bangkok Post |date=12 September 2019}} Some have suggested that the doctoral degree might be bogus.{{cite news |last1=Rojanaphruk |first1=Pravit |title='Fake degrees' concern raised over Thammanat's credentials|url=http://www.khaosodenglish.com/politics/2019/09/13/fake-degrees-concern-raised-over-thammanats-credentials/ |accessdate=13 September 2019 |work=Khaosod English |date=13 September 2019}} Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam says it does not matter if the doctoral degree is fake as it is irrelevant.{{cite news |title=Wissanu says a fake PhD is irrelevant if Thammanat has a genuine BA degree |url=https://www.thaipbsworld.com/wissanu-says-a-fake-phd-is-irrelevant-if-thammanat-has-a-genuine-ba-degree/ |accessdate=15 September 2019 |work=Thai PBS World |date=14 September 2019}} Thamanat has vowed to file around 100 lawsuits against those who he believes have lied about his past.{{cite news |last1=Sattaburuth |first1=Aekarach |title=Thamanat to slap 100 lawsuits on critics |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/1749384/thamanat-to-slap-100-lawsuits-on-critics |accessdate=24 December 2019 |work=Bangkok Post |date=13 September 2019}}

Thamanat Prompow was convicted of conspiring to import heroin to Australia. The ruling was handed down on 31 March 1994 when he was sentenced to six years imprisonment. Manat served four years, then was deported upon his release.{{cite news |title=BBC Thai shows proof of Thammanat's imprisonment in Australia |url=https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30377251 |accessdate=11 October 2019 |work=The Nation |date=9 October 2019}} BBC Thai reporters traveled to Downing Court in Sydney to view court records. Forbidden to make photocopies, they translated a relevant court document into Thai as proof of the conviction that Thamanat continues to deny.{{cite news |last1=Nanuam |first1=Wassana |title=Thamanat denies being key gang member |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/1746929/thammanat-denies-being-key-gang-member#cxrecs_s |accessdate=24 December 2019 |work=Bangkok Post |date=10 September 2019}}{{cite news |title=ธรรมนัส พรหมเผ่า : คำแปลอย่างไม่เป็นทางการ คำพิพากษาของศาลแขวงรัฐนิวเซาท์เวลส์ คดี มนัส โบพรหม [Thamanat Phrompao: unofficial translation Judgment of the New South Wales District Court for the case of Manat Bophlom] |url=https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=th&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fthai%2Fthailand-49965886&anno=2 |accessdate=11 October 2019 |work=BBC Thai |date=8 October 2019}} Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwon asked the Thai people to leave the past in the past, saying the case has already been cleared up and that it was a matter concerning one person that has nothing to do with the nation.{{cite news |title=Come clean on drug past |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1747254/come-clean-on-drug-past |accessdate=24 December 2019 |work=Bangkok Post |date=11 September 2019 |department=Opinion}}{{cite news |last1=Nanuam |first1=Wassana |title=Govt leaders tight-lipped on Thamanat's heroin sentence in Australia |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1746869/govt-leaders-tight-lipped-on-thamanats-heroin-sentence-in-australia#cxrecs_s |accessdate=24 December 2019 |work=Bangkok Post |date=10 September 2019}} Thamanat claims he will sue the Sydney Morning Herald for defamation,{{cite news |last1=Charuvastra |first1=Teeranai |title=Thammanat threatens to sue Aussie paper for drug allegation|url=http://www.khaosodenglish.com/politics/2019/09/10/thammanat-threatens-to-sue-aussie-paper-for-drug-allegation/ |accessdate=24 December 2019 |work=Khaosod English |date=10 September 2019}} although he declines to respond to their reporting.{{cite news |last1=Charuvastra |first1=Teeranai |title=Minister won't explain heroin conviction, jail time in Australia|url=http://www.khaosodenglish.com/politics/2019/09/09/minister-wont-explain-heroin-conviction-jail-time-in-australia/ |accessdate=24 December 2019 |work=Khaosod English |date=9 September 2019}}

Thamanat served in the Royal Thai Army, rising to the rank of captain. He frequently uses his former military rank before his name and is often referred to as "Captain" by the media.{{cite news |last1=Nanuam |first1=Wassana |last2=Sattaburuth |first2=Aekarach |title=Capt Thammanat opens up about 'dubious' past |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/1710831/capt-thammanat-opens-up-about-dubious-past |accessdate=13 September 2019 |work=Bangkok Post |date=12 September 2019}}

Political activists have asked the Election Commission of Thailand (EC) to answer several Thamanat-related questions: how he managed to get reinstated in the army after his long stay in Australia in "state-sponsored accommodation"{{cite news |last1=Ruffles |first1=Michael |last2=Massola |first2=James |last3=Evans |first3=Michael |title=Ex-con cabinet minister changes story over Sydney jail time |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/ex-con-cabinet-minister-changes-story-over-sydney-jail-time-20190912-p52qow.html |accessdate=13 September 2019 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=12 September 2019}}{{cite news |title=Where heroin trafficking is no bar to public office |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/where-heroin-trafficking-is-no-bar-to-public-office-20190910-p52pxn.html |accessdate=13 September 2019 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=10 September 2019 |department=Opinion}} and then got promoted in 1997 after returning to Thailand, and why he used the military rank of captain in documents he submitted to join the current cabinet even though his title was revoked in a Royal Thai Government Gazette announcement in September 1998.

Thamanat began his political career with the Thai Rak Thai Party in 1999.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/thai/thailand-49644827|title=เพื่อนร่วม ครม. โยน ธรรมนัส แจงเองคดียาเสพติด มั่นใจไม่กระทบภาพรัฐบาล|newspaper=BBC News ไทย}} In the 2014 Thai general election, he ran for a seat in the House of Representatives as a Pheu Thai Party candidate, but the election was declared invalid. When the National Council for Peace and Order seized power in 2014, he was one of the persons ordered to report to the National Council for Peace and Order. In 2018, Thamanat joined the Palang Pracharath Party, being appointed chairman for its northern strategy, and was elected to the House of Representatives for Phayao District 1 by defeating Arunee Chamnanya of the Puea Thai Party.{{Citation needed|date=October 2019}}

As Deputy Agriculture Minister Thamanat has been active in his support of Thai farmers. In December 2019 he proposed spending 18 billion baht to purchase 30 million latex foam pillows to prop up rubber prices for struggling growers. The proposal would require buying 150,000 tonnes of latex from Thai rubber farmers who would be paid 65 baht per kilogram instead of the market price of 40 baht. The chief of Thai Hua Rubber PLC, in favour of the idea, suggested that the pillows—estimated to cost 600 baht to manufacture—could be sold at low prices or given free to foreign tourists.{{cite news |title=Govt defends 'pillow' plan |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1822669/govt-defends-pillow-plan |accessdate=24 December 2019 |work=Bangkok Post |date=24 December 2019}}

Along with several other ministers of Prime Minister Prayut's government, Thamanat was the subject of a multi-day censure debate in the Thai Parliament in February 2020. Opposition parties charged that Thamanat is ineligible to be a cabinet minister because of his criminal record, and says he lied to Parliament about his case. In the course of the debate Thamanat tried to block the admission of Australian court records, arguing that accepting an Australian court's decision as proof of his unfitness for office would be an infringement of Thai sovereignty.{{cite news |last1=Ruffles |first1=Michael |last2=Evans |first2=Michael |title=Thai minister faces censure for lying over Sydney jail time |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/thai-minister-faces-censure-for-lying-over-sydney-jail-time-20200227-p544xr.html |accessdate=3 March 2020 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=27 February 2020}} During the debate Thamanat went on to claim that the 3.2 kilograms of heroin he was accused of smuggling into Australia was ordinary flour. At debate's end, he was rebuked by 17 members of his own party and received fewer votes of confidence than the five other ministers involved, but kept his job as Deputy Minister of Agriculture.{{cite news |last1=Ruffles |first1=Michael |last2=Evans |first2=Michael |title=Thai minister who pleaded guilty in Sydney heroin case now says 'it was flour' |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/thai-minister-who-pleaded-guilty-in-sydney-heroin-case-now-says-it-was-flour-20200303-p546g4.html |accessdate=3 March 2020 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=3 March 2020}}

On 9 September 2021, Thamanat was sacked from the cabinet after he had been accused of being behind a move to oust Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha during the previous week's censure debate in parliament.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/2179123/prayut-sacks-thamanat-narumon-from-cabinet|title=Prayut sacks Thamanat, Narumon from cabinet|newspaper=Bangkok Post}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/2177987/thamanats-future-unclear|title=Thamanat's future unclear|newspaper=Bangkok Post}} He and 20 MPs loyal to him were later expelled from Palang Pracharath in January 2022.{{Cite web |date=2023-02-09 |title=‘Renegade’ Thammanat and followers return to ruling party |url=https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/politics/40024766 |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=The Nation |language=en-US}} His group joined the Thai Economic Party, of which he became party leader.{{cite web | url=https://www.matichon.co.th/politics/politics-in-depth/news_3140830 | title=รู้จัก 'พรรคเศรษฐกิจไทย' พรรคใหม่ ก๊วนธรรมนัส | date=20 January 2022 }} Thamanat and his followers returned to Palang Pracharath in February 2023, after Prayut's faction had split from Palang Pracharath to join the United Thai Nation Party.

Following the 2023 Thai general election, Thamanat became Minister of Agriculture in the Srettha cabinet led by the Pheu Thai Party. In August 2024, Srettha was removed by the Constitutional Court and replaced by Paethongtharn Shinawatra. During the negotiations for the formation of the new cabinet, conflict emerged within Palang Pracharath between the factions of Thamanat and party leader Prawit Wongsuwon over ministerial positions.{{Cite news |last= |first= |title=Thamanat vows to quit |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/2850568/thamanat-vows-to-quit |access-date=2024-09-02 |work=Bangkok Post |language=en}} This culminated in Pheu Thai's decision to remove Phalang Pracharath from the government coalition but still retaining the faction led by Thamanat, which obtained three cabinet seats.{{Cite web |date=2024-08-28 |title=Rebel Thamanat’s faction secures three Cabinet seats: sources |url=https://www.nationthailand.com/news/politics/40040975 |access-date=2024-09-05 |website=The Nation |language=en-US}}

Thamanat's parliamentary declaration of assets in August 2019 listed two wives, four children, and a net worth of about A$42 million, including a Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Tesla, and Mercedes-Benz along with 12 Hermès and 13 Chanel handbags, luxury watches, and Thai Buddha amulets.{{cite news |last1=Ruffles |first1=Michael |last2=Evans |first2=Michael |date=9 September 2019 |title=From sinister to minister: politician's drug trafficking jail time revealed |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/from-sinister-to-minister-politician-s-drug-trafficking-jail-time-revealed-20190906-p52opz.html |accessdate=13 September 2019}}

• 2021 – 70px Knight Grand Cross (First Class) of The Most Exalted Order of the White Elephantราชกิจจานุเบกษา, [https://ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/pdfdownload/?id=139B001S0000000000100 ประกาศสำนักนายกรัฐมนตรี เรื่อง พระราชทานเครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันเป็นที่เชิดชูยิ่งช้างเผือกและเครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันมีเกียรติยศยิ่งมงกุฎไทย ประจำปี ๒๕๖๔], เล่ม ๑๓๙ ตอนพิเศษ ๑ ข หน้า ๒, ๑๔ กุมภาพันธ์ ๒๕๖๕
• 2020 – 70px Knight Grand Cross (First Class) of The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailandราชกิจจานุเบกษา, [https://ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/pdfdownload/?id=2162455 ประกาศสำนักนายกรัฐมนตรี เรื่อง พระราชทานเครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันเป็นที่เชิดชูยิ่งช้างเผือกและเครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันมีเกียรติยศยิ่งมงกุฎไทย ประจำปี ๒๕๖๓], เล่ม ๑๓๘ ตอนพิเศษ ๑ ข หน้า ๒, ๒๒ มกราคม ๒๕๖๔

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• {{cite news |title=ธรรมนัส พรหมเผ่า : คำแปลอย่างไม่เป็นทางการ คำพิพากษาของศาลแขวงรัฐนิวเซาท์เวลส์ คดี มนัส โบพรหม [Thamanat Phrompao: unofficial translation The decision of the New South Wales District Court for the case of Manusbromom] sic |url=https://www.bbc.com/thai/thailand-49965886 |accessdate=28 February 2020 |work=Thai PBS |date=8 October 2019}}

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Category:1965 births

Category:Living people

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