Thai ambassador Virachai Plasai dies at age 58

Thai ambassador Virachai Plasai dies at age 58

Virachai: Worked in US, Cambodia
Virachai: Worked in US, Cambodia

Virachai Plasai, a veteran diplomat best known for his role in the contentious Preah Vihear temple case, has died in the United States at age 58.

Virachai, who was appointed as Thailand's ambassador to the United States in June last year, passed away peacefully at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore at 12.43am local time yesterday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Busadee Santipitaks said.

Nattawut Pothisaro, former Thai ambassador to Cambodia, said he was shocked by the loss of Virachai, who he said was very close to him.

Mr Nattawut said that when he served as the deputy permanent secretary for the Foreign Ministry, he was working closely with Virachai, then-ambassador to the Netherlands, in the dispute between Thailand and Cambodia over the Phrea Vihear temple.

"It was a pity to lose a good and smart person," said Mr Nattawut. "When I learned of his death, I was shocked. I could not believe he would leave us so prematurely."

Virachai had been receiving treatment at the facility near Washington DC since March 3 for Myelodysplastic syndrome, a form of bone marrow cancer.

Virachai became a familiar name among Thais in 2012 when he was named to head the Thai legal team in the dispute with Cambodia over the Phrea Vihear temple, where ownership had been contested for decades. It became a flashpoint for nationalists on both sides and there were occasional military skirmishes.

Thai television viewers became captivated by Virachai's poise and capability in leading a team of foreign lawyers to deliver oral arguments in the case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The court ruled in November 2013 that while Cambodia had territorial sovereignty over the temple, the two countries needed to negotiate further to determine other issues related to boundaries.

As well, the ICJ said, because the temple was a Unesco World Heritage site, both parties must cooperate with each other and with the international community to protect it. Virachai expressed satisfaction with the ruling, calling it a balanced one in which both sides got some of the things they wanted.

In an interview with the Bangkok Post shortly before the ICJ ruling was announced, he reflected on the uniqueness of the experience before the international court.

"I take this as another assignment in my career," he said.

"The only unusual thing is that it is neither a pure legal job nor a pure diplomatic assignment. It is a mixture of both. In fact, no one in this country has ever had this experience for nearly half a century.

"I nevertheless welcomed it, as I like to see myself as a professional football player who takes whatever job the manager entrusts him with, and considers himself lucky for having it."

Born in Bangkok on June 9, 1960, Virachai held bachelor's and master's degrees in law from the Paris University Nanterre and obtained a doctorate in law in 1986 from the University of Paris Pantheon-Sorbonne.

He entered the Foreign Ministry in 1987 as a junior diplomat and rose steadily through the ranks. In addition to posts related to treaties and international economic affairs, he represented the country at the World Trade Organisation, and as ambassador to the Netherlands and United Nations, before taking up his post in Washington.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT (3)