Chumpol Silpa-archa

Chumpol Silpa-archa ชุมพล ศิลปอาชา MPCh MWM
Deputy Prime Minister
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 August 2011
Prime Minister	Yingluck Shinawatra
Minister of Tourism and Sports
Incumbent
Assumed office 20 December 2008
Prime Minister	Yingluck Shinawatra Abhisit Vejjajiva (until 2011)
Preceded by	Weerasak Kowasurat
Minister of Education
In office 14 November 1997 – 1 October 1998
Prime Minister	Chuan Leekpai
Personal details
Born	June 6, 1940 (1940-06-06) (age 71) Suphanburi, Thailand
Nationality	Thai
Political party	Chartthaipattana Party Thai Nation Party (until 2008)
Alma mater	Thammasat University, Syracuse University
Religion	Buddhism

Chumpol Silpa-archa (Thai: ชุมพล ศิลปอาชา, RTGS: Chumphon Sinlapa-acha; born 6 June 1940 in Suphanburi) is a Thai politician. He is the younger brother of former Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-archa. Since 2008, he has been Minister of Tourism and Sports in Abhisit Vejjajiva's cabinet and since January 2009 he has been the president of the Chartthaipattana Party.^[1]

Chumpol holds a Bachelor of Laws from the Thammasat University and an MPA from the Syracuse University.

He worked as a civil servant and political science lecturer at the Thammasat University, before he entered politics in 1979. A member of the conservative-populist Thai Nation Party, he represented Suphan Buri Province in parliament. In the following years he held different high-rank government positions. In 1986 and 1992, he was Vice President of the House of Representatives. From 1997 to 1998 he was Minister of Education in Chuan Leekpai's cabinet. As he was no member of the Thai Nation Party's executive board, he was, unlike his brother, not banned from political activity by the Constitutional Court's ruling of 2 December 2008. So he could, as his brother's proxy, become leader of the Chartthaipattana Party, which is the de facto successor of the dissolved Thai Nation Party. After his grouping broke the coalition with the People's Power Party and joined the Democrat-led government, Chumpol became Minister of Tourism and Sports under Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

When the Pheu Thai Party led by Yingluck Shinawatra won the 2011 elections, Chumpol changed sides again, and directed his Chartthaipattana Party into the coalition with Pheu Thai. He kept the Tourism and Sports portfolio and was additionally appointed Deputy Prime Minister, on 9 August 2011.

Chumpol Silpa-archa has been decorated with the Special Class of both the Order of the White Elephant and the Order of the Crown of Thailand.

References

1. ^ "Phalang Chon eyes sports portfolio", Bangkok Post, 6 July 2011, http://www.bangkokpost.com/print/245650/, retrieved 12 July 2011 

Persondata
Name	Silpa-Archa, Chumpol
Alternative names
Short description	Minister of Tourism and Sports
Date of birth	6 June 1940
Place of birth	Suphanburi, Thailand
Date of death
Place of death