The rise and fall...and rise of Thaksin Shinawatra

Thaksin Shinawatra is one of the most influential people in Thailand, but he is also one of the most divisive.

A businessman who made his billions in telecoms and IT, Thaksin entered politics in 1994 and became the Prime Minister of Thailand in 2001, but was ousted by a military coup and convicted in absentia for a conflict of interest in 2006.

He led his Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party to a storming democratic victory nine years ago, becoming the country's first elected Prime Minister and the first to serve a full four-year term. His populist polices made him very popular in the rural regions in the north and north-east of Thailand, but such a strong executive force did TRT become that Thaksin and his cabinet became increasingly hard to keep in check.

As the party's power grew accusations of abuses of authority, conflicts of interests and cronyism began circulating. Then, after Thaksin himself was accused of avoiding the payment of windfall profit tax on the sale of Shin Corp. shares worth more than 73 billion baht to Singapore-based Temasek Holdings on 23 January 2006, Thailand's People's Alliance for Democracy took to the streets in protest.

Self-imposed exile

In 2008 he was convicted of a conflict of interest over a land deal involving his wife. He was sentenced to two years in jail, but had fled the country before the verdict was delivered. A fugitive, he now lives in Dubai and serves, to the fury of the Thai government, as an economic adviser to neighbouring Cambodia.

The recent protests on the streets of Thailand, which have involved people spilling their own blood during ritualistic curses at both Government House and current Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's private residence, are an indication of the deep and far-reaching discontent within Thailand that threatens its social and economic stability.

Even though Thaksin eventually became highly unpopular following numerous accusations of abusing his power he was, at least, democratically elected. New Prime Minister, Mr. Abhisist was not. His government was installed by parliament, with the backing of the military.

But the "red-shirt" rallies currently going on in Thailand have become a genuine anti-government, anti-establishment, political movement, rather than just a political front for the ousted Prime Minister.

A return to office?

Yet even in his absence Thaksin remains influential, reporting to and rallying his army of protesters via video links on an almost daily basis. Further, as described in a recent BBC report, Thaksin is still admired with an almost "cult-like devotion" in the northern regions and many of the protesters have his face emblazoned across their red T-shirts.

The fight has become a fight over principles, not individual personalities.

A supreme court ruled last month that Thaksin is to be stripped of more than half of his seized assets - thought to be worth well over a billion US dollars - which could make it extremely difficult for him to make a meaningful attempt at returning to office. But correspondents in the country insist he and his family still remain extremely wealthy "by any standards."

Thaksin himself has vowed to continue his political battle with or without his riches, and with the level of influence he still holds over Thailand, you wouldn't bet against him.

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Daniel Jones

Daniel is a Politics and Philosophy graduate from Cardiff University where he also worked as a section editor on the award winning student newspaper. After university he joined an IT support company where he was a B2B online writer. He loves anything to do with sport and joined GDS in July 2009.

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