Retired diplomat Maris Sangiampongsa has been endorsed as the country’s new foreign minister by His Majesty the King, the Royal Gazette announced on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin nominated Mr Maris, 66, to succeed Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara, who resigned on Sunday after he lost the position of deputy prime minister, which he held concurrently, in the cabinet reshuffle.
Mr Maris resigned from the board of Thanulux Plc on Monday, citing “personal reasons” in his letter to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, to clear the way for his acceptance of a cabinet post.
A former career diplomat at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Maris was a member of Mr Parnpree’s advisory team. He also has had a close relationship with former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was foreign minister during the Chuan Leekpai government in 1994.
The holder of an MA in Political Science from Ohio University, Mr Maris joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1986 as an attaché and was posted to Brussels in 1989. He subsequently returned to Thailand and held a number of positions at ministry headquarters before being posted abroad in 2007 as first minister at the Thai embassy in Berlin. A series of ambassadorial postings followed, to Nepal (2009), Australia (2011), New Zealand (2015) and and Canada (2018).
In brief remarks at Government House on Wednesday, Mr Maris said that Mr Parnpree recommended continuous work on certain tasks. He said he had no concerns about the challenges of the new position since he had worked at the ministry for decades and had been an ambassador.
Mr Maris also said he would be able to cooperate effectively with the prime minister because he knew Mr Srettha well and had always kept in touch with him.
He declined to reply to questions about his style of work or his relationship with Thaksin, who continues to exert considerable influence over the governing Pheu Thai Party.
His appointment comes at a crucial time as Thailand steps up diplomatic efforts in managing the ongoing conflict in neighbouring Myanmar, where a civil war between the ruling military and a ethnic minority armies and a resistance movement is escalating.
The government in March started to deliver aid to Myanmar in a humanitarian initiative aimed at paving the way for talks between warring camps.
Thailand has been pressing Asean to be more proactive in trying to seek a solution following the failure of its peace plan to gain traction in the three years since it was announced. Several key members have become frustrated at the junta’s refusal to engage their opponents.
“The direction is still there from the prime minister … (for Thailand) to be this kind of facilitator, mediator for the way forward in Myanmar,” said political analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak of Chulalongkorn University.
“That objective is still there but the mechanics, they will have a lot to make up for,” he said.