Thaksin Shinawatra Biography Quotes 10 Report mistakes

Early Life and Education
Thaksin Shinawatra was born on 26 July 1949 in San Kamphaeng, Chiang Mai Province, into a prominent Chinese-Thai entrepreneurial family. He attended military-preparatory schools before entering the Royal Police Cadet Academy, beginning his career in law enforcement. Determined to pursue advanced study, he earned a master's degree in criminal justice from Eastern Kentucky University and a doctorate in the same field from Sam Houston State University in the United States. Returning to Thailand, he rose to the rank of police lieutenant colonel, acquiring administrative experience and a network that would later support his move into business and politics.

Business Career
Leaving active police service, Thaksin built a telecommunications and technology empire during Thailand's liberalizing boom years. He founded companies that evolved into Shin Corporation, with holdings in mobile telephony, satellites, and media. Advanced Info Service (AIS) became the country's leading mobile operator, while Shin Satellite (later Thaicom) operated communications satellites. He also acquired the television broadcaster iTV, bringing him into the media sphere. His rapid expansion reflected a blend of entrepreneurial timing, state contracting know-how, and access to capital. The sale of Shin Corporation shares to Temasek Holdings in early 2006, which was structured in a tax-efficient manner under existing law, ignited controversy about conflicts of interest, foreign ownership, and political power tied to business.

Entry into Politics and Rise
Thaksin entered politics in the 1990s, serving briefly in cabinet and as a deputy prime minister in coalition governments. In 1998 he founded the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) Party with allies such as Sudarat Keyuraphan and Prommin Lertsuridej, promising technocratic efficiency and pro-poor policies. In the 2001 general election, he led TRT to a historic victory and became prime minister. He appealed to rural and lower-income voters with clear, quantifiable pledges: a universal health plan with a 30-baht copay, village development funds, farmer debt relief, and the OTOP (One Tambon One Product) program to spur local entrepreneurship. The policy architecture gave him a national base unprecedented in modern Thai politics and helped him become the first elected premier to complete a full four-year term.

Prime Ministership and Policy Agenda
From 2001 to 2006, Thaksin pursued ambitious domestic programs and infrastructure plans. His government centralized decision-making in the Prime Minister's Office, emphasizing speed and delivery. Supporters credit him with expanding access to healthcare, stimulating rural economies, and strengthening Thailand's position in regional trade. Critics argue he eroded checks and balances and tolerated or encouraged practices that undermined media independence, citing regulatory pressure on outlets including iTV.

Security policy overshadowed much of his second term. The 2003 "war on drugs" coincided with thousands of extrajudicial killings, which human rights groups decried. In the southern border provinces, a renewed insurgency was met with heavy-handed tactics, drawing further criticism. Despite these controversies, Thaksin won a landslide reelection in 2005, eclipsing the opposition Democrats led by Abhisit Vejjajiva and cementing his political dominance.

Crisis, Protest, and the 2006 Coup
In 2006, the Shin Corporation sale to Temasek catalyzed an urban protest movement. Media figure Sondhi Limthongkul and former Bangkok governor Chamlong Srimuang helped lead the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), accusing Thaksin of corruption and authoritarianism. Seeking to undercut the protests, he called snap elections in April 2006, which the main opposition boycotted; the Constitutional Court later annulled the results. On 19 September 2006, while Thaksin was in New York for the UN General Assembly, the military under General Sonthi Boonyaratglin seized power, dissolving TRT and banning its executives from politics. This coup entrenched a cycle of street mobilization and judicial and military interventions that would shape Thai politics for years.

Exile, Legal Cases, and Political Networks
After the coup, Thaksin lived abroad, at times in the United Kingdom and later in Dubai, while continuing to influence Thai politics through allies. His network regrouped under the People Power Party (PPP); Samak Sundaravej became prime minister in 2008, followed by Somchai Wongsawat, Thaksin's brother-in-law, after court rulings. Both governments fell amid legal decisions and PAD protests, including airport sieges. Thaksin faced multiple corruption investigations; in 2008, the Supreme Court convicted him in the Ratchadaphisek land case and sentenced him to prison, prompting him to remain in exile. The court later ordered a large portion of his assets seized, arguing that policy actions had benefited his family holdings.

While abroad, Thaksin bought Manchester City Football Club in 2007, selling it the following year to new owners as his legal troubles mounted. Domestically, his supporters coalesced as the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), known as the "Red Shirts", with leaders such as Jatuporn Prompan and Nattawut Saikua becoming prominent. Their mass protests against the Abhisit Vejjajiva government in 2010 ended in a military crackdown, deepening polarization. Former allies drifted away or realigned; Newin Chidchob's faction became pivotal in forming rival coalitions, while longstanding TRT figures like Surapong Suebwonglee faced cases of their own.

Yingluck Era and Renewed Military Rule
In 2011, Thaksin's younger sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, led the Pheu Thai Party to a decisive victory and became Thailand's first female prime minister. Her premiership sought to reconcile competing forces while continuing elements of the pro-poor agenda. However, amnesty proposals tied to past political cases inflamed opposition. Street protests led by Suthep Thaugsuban helped precipitate a crisis that culminated in the 2014 coup led by General Prayut Chan-o-cha, ousting Yingluck, who later faced legal cases and left the country. Through these years, Thaksin's influence endured via party strategists, family members such as Yaowapa Wongsawat, and loyalists who negotiated shifting coalitions.

Return to Thailand and Recent Developments
After the 2023 election, in which Move Forward emerged as the largest party but was blocked from forming a government, Pheu Thai assembled a coalition that brought businessman Srettha Thavisin to the premiership. Thaksin returned to Thailand in August 2023 after 15 years abroad and was taken into custody on arrival. His outstanding sentences were later commuted through a royal pardon, and he was granted parole in early 2024 following hospitalization. In mid-2024 he was indicted under the lese majeste and computer crime laws related to a past media interview; he denied wrongdoing and received bail pending proceedings. Meanwhile, his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra rose within Pheu Thai and became a central political figure, signaling both generational transition and continuity inside the Shinawatra camp.

Personal Life and Family
Thaksin married Pojaman (Potjaman) na Pombejra; the couple later divorced in 2008. They have three children, including Panthongtae (Oak), Pinthongta, and Paetongtarn. Family ties intertwine with his political trajectory: Yingluck's premiership, Somchai Wongsawat's brief tenure, and Yaowapa Wongsawat's behind-the-scenes role illustrate how kinship networks overlap with party organization and parliamentary strategy. These relationships, together with longtime associates like Sudarat Keyuraphan and regional brokers who alternately cooperated with or defected from his camp, have been integral to his endurance.

Legacy
Thaksin's legacy is contested and consequential. Admirers view him as the architect of Thailand's most extensive social policy expansion, a leader who gave voice to rural and working-class voters previously marginalized in national decision-making. Detractors emphasize the concentration of power, conflicts of interest highlighted by the Shin Corporation sale, pressure on media and independent bodies, and security policies with grave human rights costs. His career redrew the country's political map, engendering powerful mobilizations both for and against him, and setting the stage for cycles of electoral victories, judicial interventions, protest movements, and military coups. Even after years abroad and legal battles, the prominence of Yingluck, the emergence of Srettha Thavisin as a premier from his party's orbit, and the rise of Paetongtarn attest to his enduring influence on Thai politics and the persistent debate over populism, accountability, and the boundaries of democratic power.

Our collection contains 10 quotes who is written by Thaksin, under the main topics: Freedom - Health - Peace - Change - Human Rights.