Profile

Abhisit Vejjajiva was Thailand’s 27th Prime Minister, holding the post from December 2008 to August 2011. He was first elected to Parliament in 1992 and was reelected eight times. He had served as Government Spokesperson (1992-1994) and as a Minister Attached to the Prime Minister’s Office (1997).

Over two and a half decades, he has assumed many responsibilities including Deputy Secretary General to the Prime Minister for Political Affairs; Chairman of the House Committee for Education; and as Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives for three terms. Within the Democrat Party, he has also assumed many positions: Party Spokesman, Deputy Party Leader; and from 2005 – 2019, Party Leader.

He was born in Newcastle upon Tyne in the United Kingdom in 1964. After completing his primary education in Thailand, he returned to the United Kingdom to study at Eton College. He later graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) with 1st class Honours from Oxford University, where he also earned a Master’s Degree in Economics. Before entering politics he taught at the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy from 1987 to 1988 and at the Faculty of Economics, Thammasat University from 1990 to 1991.