Anutin Charnvirakul
อนุทิน ชาญวีรกูล
Anutin in 2023
Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand
Assumed office
10 July 2019
Prime MinisterPrayut Chan-o-cha
Srettha Thavisin
Minister of Interior
Assumed office
1 September 2023
Prime MinisterSrettha Thavisin
Preceded byAnupong Paochinda
Minister of Public Health
In office
10 July 2019 – 1 September 2023
Prime MinisterPrayut Chan-o-cha
Preceded byPiyasakol Sakolsatayadorn[1]
Succeeded byChonlanan Srikaew
Deputy Minister of Public Health
In office
11 March 2005 – 19 September 2006
Prime MinisterThaksin Shinawatra
In office
30 June 2004 – 6 October 2004
Prime MinisterThaksin Shinawatra
Deputy Minister of Commerce
In office
6 October 2004 – 11 March 2005
Prime MinisterThaksin Shinawatra
Leader of the Bhumjaithai Party
Assumed office
14 October 2012
Preceded byChavarat Charnvirakul
Personal details
Born (1966-09-13) 13 September 1966 (age 57)
Phra Nakhon, Thailand
Political partyBhumjaithai (2012–Present)
Other political
affiliations		Thai Rak Thai (2001–2007)
SpouseSasithorn Charnvirakul
Children2
Parent(s)Chavarat Charnvirakul
Tassanee Chanweerakul
Alma materHofstra University

Anutin Charnvirakul (Thai: อนุทิน ชาญวีรกูล, RTGS: Anuthin Chanwirakun, Chinese: 陈锡尧;[2] 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 the Prayut's government. Notably, he is the prominent public figure in charge of managing the COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand.[3][4]

Early life and family

Nicknamed 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.[5] 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.[6]

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.[7] An engineer, Anuthin served as president of Sino-Thai.[8]

He has over the years been a member of many political parties such as the National Development Party, Thai Rak Thai Party and as leader of the Bhumjai Thai Party.[9]

Political career

In 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.[8][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] On May 8, he said his ministry would give away 1 million cannabis plants in June 2022 to Thai households for license-free cultivation.[13]

Controversy

During 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

Anutin has received the following royal decorations in the Honours System of Thailand:

References

  1. ^ "Name list of Minister of Public Health, Past-Present". Ministry of Public Health. Retrieved 27 March 2020.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ อนุทินระบุ สถานการณ์โควิดอยู่ภายใต้การควบคุม แนะประชาชนควรฉีดวัคซีนอย่างน้อย 4 เข็ม
  4. ^ ปลัดสธ. เผยกรณี "อนุทิน" ติดโควิดแม้ฉีดวัคซีนหลายเข็ม ชี้ติดเชื้อได้แต่อาการไม่รุนแรง
  5. ^ How Thailand’s Deputy PM Could Score the Top Job—and Redefine the Country’s Politics
  6. ^ "เปิดประวัติ "อนุทิน ชาญวีรกูล" วันที่เป็นนักการเมืองอาชีพ". PPTV36.
  7. ^ "Who Will Be Thailand's Next Prime Minister?". The Diplomat. Associated Press. 22 March 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  8. ^ a b Suksamran, Nauvarat (13 October 2012). "Anutin's career takes flight". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  9. ^ [1]
  10. ^ a b "อนุทิน ภูมิใจไทย จับขั้วพลังประชารัฐ ตั้งรัฐบาล หลังเล่นตัวนานกว่า 2 เดือน". Sanook.
  11. ^ "ประกาศนายทะเบียนพรรคการเมือง เรื่อง ตอบรับการเปลี่ยนแปลงคณะกรรมการบริหารพรรคภูมิใจไทย (จำนวน ๙ ราย)" (PDF). Government Gazette. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 27, 2019.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ "Explained: Why Thailand will distribute 1 million cannabis plants to households". The Indian Express. 12 May 2022 – via Yahoo! News.
  14. ^ "Thailand News Today - March 13, 2020" – via www.youtube.com.
  15. ^ a b https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2020/03/13/minister-anutin-white-western-foreigners-tourists-public-face-masks/[full citation needed][permanent dead link]
  16. ^ a b "อนุทิน ทวีตแรงจวกฝรั่งสกปรกเข้าไทย สาเหตุตัวนำเชื้อ อ๋อย จวกกลับแรงเหยียด". 13 March 2020.
  17. ^ https://www.aseantoday.com/2019/01/thailands-wealth-inequality-is-the-highest-in-the-world-what-does-this-mean-for-upcoming-elections/[full citation needed][permanent dead link]
  18. ^ https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/politics/health-minister-denies-racist-tweet[full citation needed][permanent dead link]
  19. ^ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-07/thai-minister-sorry-for-threatening-tourists-not-wearing-masks[full citation needed]
  20. ^ "ประกาศสำนักนายกรัฐมนตรี เรื่อง พระราชทานเครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์ (ชั้นสายสะพาย จำนวน ๔,๒๓๘ ราย)" (PDF). Government Gazette. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 2, 2010.
  21. ^ ราชกิจจานุเบกษา ประกาศสำนักนายกรัฐมนตรี เรื่อง พระราชทานเครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์ (ชั้นต่ำกว่าสายสะพาย ชั้นสายสะพาย สมาชิกวุฒิสภา เนื่องในวโรกาสพระราชพิธีเฉลิมพระชนมพรรษา วันที่ ๕ ธันวาคม ๒๕๓๗)[full citation needed]
Political offices Preceded bySirikorn Manirin Deputy Minister of Public Health 2004 Succeeded bySuchai Charoenratanakul Preceded byPhongsak Raktaphongphaisan Deputy Minister of Commerce 2004–2005with Suwan Walaisathian (2001–2005) Succeeded bySuriya lapwisutthisin Preceded bySuchai Charoenratanakul Deputy Minister of Public Health 2005–2006 VacantTitle next held byMorakot Kornkasem Preceded byPrajin JuntongChatchai Sarikulya Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand 2019–presentwith Prawit Wongsuwon (2014–present)Wissanu Krea-ngam (2014–present)Somkid Jatusripitak (2015–2020)Jurin Laksanawisit Don Pramudwinai (2020–present)Supattanapong Punmeechaow (2020–present) Incumbent Preceded byPiyasakol Sakolsatayadorn Minister of Public Health 2019–present Incumbent Party political offices Preceded byChavarat Charnvirakul Leader of the Bhumjai Thai Party 2012–present Incumbent
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