Abhisit Vejjajiva

Biography: A Thai politician, born in Newcastle upon Tyne, who was the 27th Prime Minister of Thailand from 2008 to 2011 and is the current leader of the Democrat Party. As leader of the second largest party in the House of Representatives, he is also Leader of the Opposition - a position he last held in December 2008.

Born in England, Abhisit attended Eton College and earned bachelors and masters degrees from the University of Oxford. He was elected to the Parliament of Thailand at age 27, and promoted to Democrat Party leader in 2005, after his predecessor resigned following the party?s defeat in the 2005 general election.

Abhisit was appointed Prime Minister of Thailand on 17 December 2008, after the Constitutional Court of Thailand removed Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat from office. At age 44, he was the country?s youngest prime minister in more than 60 years.

Abhisit became Premier at a time of global economic turmoil and rising domestic political tensions. As prime minister, he promoted a "People?s Agenda," which focused primarily on policies affecting the living conditions of Thailand?s rural and working class citizens. He administered two economic stimulus packages: a $40 billion, three-year infrastructure improvement plan, and a more than $3 billion program of cash subsidies and handouts. By 2010, the stock market and the value of the baht had rebounded to their highest levels since the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Abhisit censored thousands of Web sites, shut down hundreds of radio stations, and arrested and silenced many media figures and opposition and labor leaders, claiming that they insulted King Bhumibol. Human Rights Watch called Abhisit "the most prolific censor in recent Thai history" and Freedom House downgraded Thailand?s rating of media freedom to "not free." Abhisit also advocated for stronger anti-corruption measures, although several members of his Cabinet resigned due to corruption scandals and parts of his economic stimulus packages were criticized for instances of alleged corruption.

Having resigned the party leadership after the defeat the Democrats suffered in the parliamentary elections of 2011, Abhisit was re-elected as leader at a party assembly.

He is fluent in both his mother tongue and the English language, and has dual Thai and British citizenship. His dual citizenship became a topic for the Thai parliamentary debates in early 2011. He is ethnically Han Chinese of Hakka origin.

Abhisit was preceded in public service by his father, Athasit Vejjajiva, a former president of Mahidol University and the Royal Institute of Thailand and who is now director of Charoen Pokphand Foods, Thailand?s largest agribusiness firm and part of the Charoen Pokphand Group, known throughout Thailand as CP.

Abhisit is married to Pimpen Sakuntabhai, his classmate at the Chulalongkorn University Demonstration elementary school, who was a former dentist and is now a lecturer at the Department of Mathematics at Chulalongkorn University. They have two children: Prang Vejjajiva (daughter) and Pannasit Vejjajiva (son). Abhisit has two sisters: child psychiatrist Alisa Wacharasindhu and author Ngarmpun Vejjajiva