BANGKOK -- In September, Mom Rajawongse Pridiyathorn Devakula, 67, was appointed deputy prime minister with overall responsibility for economic policy in the military-led government of former army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha, who took power in a coup on May 22. After Thailand's previous coup in 2006, MR Pridyathorn served as deputy prime minister and minister of finance in the government of another former army chief, General Surayud Chulanont, but resigned after only four months.
Thai Deputy Prime Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula A prominent economist educated at Bangkok's Thammasat Univeristy and Wharton Business School in the U.S., MR Pridiyathorn spent 19 years at Thai Farmers Bank (Kasikornbank). After stints as a government spokesman, deputy commerce minister and senator, he became president of the Export-Import Bank of Thailand in 1993 and governor of the Bank of Thailand in 2001. Descended from royalty, he is popularly known by the nickname 'Mom Ui' and recently spoke exclusively with the Nikkei.
