Thaksin Shinawatra
Thaksin Shinawatra is a Thai businessman and politician. He served in the Thai Police from 1973 to 1987, and was the Prime Minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006.
Some of the key events about Thaksin Shinawatra
- 1973Graduated from the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School
- 1975Received a master's degree in criminal justice from Eastern Kentucky University
- 1978Joined the Royal Thai Police, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel
- 1987Founded Advanced Info Service, which became Thailand's largest mobile phone operator
- 1994Entered politics and was elected to parliament
- 1995Served as Foreign Minister in the Banharn Silpa-archa government
- 1997Founded the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party
- 2001Elected as Prime Minister of Thailand
- 2001Introduced universal healthcare coverage in Thailand
- 2001Faced allegations of concealing assets by transferring shares to his household staff
- 2003Launched a successful "war on drugs" campaign to combat drug trafficking
- 2003Launched a controversial "war on drugs" that resulted in over 2,500 extrajudicial killings
- 2004Mishandled the escalating violence in Southern Thailand, leading to increased unrest
- 2005Accused of cronyism for appointing relatives to key government positions
- 2006Sold Shin Corporation to Temasek Holdings, sparking controversy over tax evasion
- 2006Ousted as Prime Minister in a military coup while attending a UN meeting in New York
- 2008Convicted in absentia of conflict of interest in a land deal case
- 2010Charged with terrorism for his alleged role in the Bangkok protests
- 2015Stripped of his police lieutenant colonel rank due to his criminal conviction
- 2019Sentenced in absentia to two years in prison for malfeasance in the lottery case
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