Pridiyathorn Devakula

Pridiyathorn Devakula is a renowned Thai economist and Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand. Previously, he served as Governor of the Bank of Thailand and as Minister of Finance.

From 1971 to 1990, he worked for the Thai Farmers Bank (presently Kasikornbank), where he rose through the ranks to become Director and Senior Executive Vice President.

Later, he moved into government offices, first serving as official spokesman for the Prime Minister and then Deputy of Minister of Commerce in three consecutive cabinets. Following his political career, he helped the Government to found Export-Import Bank of Thailand and was appointed the first President. Afterward, in 2001, he became the Governor of the Bank of Thailand, a position he held until 2006 when he was invited to be Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.

He retired in 2007 and joined the Board of Directors of some business corporations. He has also chaired several charity organizations. Though retired, he continues to follow the performance of the governments and their various policies that would impact the Thai economy as well as provides his valuable insights and expertise for the benefit of the country as a whole.

Pridiyathorn gains high respect for his legacy as an independent figure with his forthright handling of economic policy. For such reason, he was again invited to take the post of in the current government as Deputy Prime Minister in charge of economic affairs.

Pridiyathorn holds a bachelor of economics with first-class honors from Thammasat University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds several honorary degrees from various universities in Thailand.