Chaturon Chaisang

Chaturon Chaisang or Chaisaeng (จาตุรนต์ ฉายแสง,, born January 1, 1956) is a Thai politician.

He was a government member for several terms, serving as Minister of Justice, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Education in the cabinets of Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra.

In the 1970s, Chaturon was one of the leaders of the leftist, pro-democracy students movement that initiated the October 1973 popular uprising against military dictatorship.

During all this time he still maintained contact with his ex-comrades from the time of CPT's armed struggle in Nan Province in the 1970s.

During his studies at the Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, he became involved in the students' movement that initiated the October 1973 popular uprising against the military dictatorship of Thanom Kittikachorn.

He was a leader of the Pracha Tham ("Dharma Party") a leftist students' party at Chiang Mai University.

The party won the university elections and he became president of the student council.

After the 1976 Thammasat University massacre and return to authoritarian rule, he joined the illegal Communist Party of Thailand.

He later fled to the United States, where he furthered his academic studies, earning a master's degree in economics.

After the Thammasat University massacre of 6 October 1976, he joined the illegal Communist Party of Thailand and hid its camps in the jungle.

During this time he was editor of the communist-affiliated student magazine Athipat ("Sovereign").

With his father's help he then fled to the United States where he continued his studies.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics at the State University of New York at Buffalo and a Master of Arts in economics from The American University in Washington, D.C. He had mostly completed his Ph.D. studies at the American Studies, but did not complete the dissertation, as he chose to return to Thailand to become a Member of Parliament.

After his return to Thailand in 1986, he joined mainstream politics, representing his home province in Parliament for several terms.

Chaturon was a Member of Parliament from Chachoengsao from 1986 until the 2006 Thai coup d'état.

His entry into official Thai politics was planned and supported by his father.

He played down his past as a leftist student activist, and instead presented himself as a US-educated, new-generation politician and son of an established MP.

Initially affiliated with the Democrat Party, he served as assistant secretary to the deputy minister of finance from 1986 to 1989.

He then defected to the minor People's Party (Phak Prachachon), just to join the Thai Nation Party (Chart Thai) little later on invitation by Kraisak Choonhavan, another former leftist student activist and son of Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan.

In the Chatichai administration, Chaturon was made secretary to the Minister of Commerce.

He repeatedly switched parties, during most of the 1990s he stayed with the New Aspiration Party, in which he served as secretary general from 1997 until his leave in 2000.

In 1992 Chaturon again switched parties and joined the New Aspiration Party (NAP) of General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh.

Chaturon became a "poster child" and spokesman of this party.

After the bloody events of "Black May" 1992, Chaturon advocated political reform.

He served as the NAP's representative on the special committee for constitutional reform.

In 1995 he became Chairman of the parliamentary Committee on Science and Technology, in 1996 a spokesman of the Constitution Drafting Committee.

During Chavalit's premiership from 1996 to 1997, he served as deputy minister of finance.

In 1997 he became secretary-general of the NAP.

In 1998, he was a member of the committee coordinating the ceremony to remember the 25th anniversary of the 1973 popular uprising.

After conflicts with old-style politicians within the NAP, he resigned from the declining party in 2000.

He then joined the Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT) of Thaksin Shinawatra, and became a member of Thaksin's government in several positions: Minister to the Office of the Prime Minister (2001–02), Minister of Justice (2002), Deputy Prime Minister (2002–05), and Minister of Education (2005–06).

He intended to found a new party of his own, but given the difficulties under Thai party law, he instead joined the relatively new Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT) of telecommunications tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra shortly ahead of its landslide success in the 2001 general election.

After the coup d'état of 19 September 2006, he acted as the leader of the disempowered and disintegrating Thai Rak Thai Party until its forced dissolution by the Constitutional Tribunal in May 2007.

By the court's decision he was banned from political activity for five years.

In June 2013 he returned to political office, again becoming Minister of Education, in Yingluck Shinawatra's cabinet, representing her Pheu Thai Party.

He was again removed from office by a military coup on 22 May 2014.

Chaturon was born in Chachoengsao.

His father Anand Chaisaeng was a prominent liberal politician who served as Member of Parliament representing Chahoengsao Province for four terms.

Chaturon's younger brother and sister became politicians, too.

He attended the prestigious Suankularb Wittayalai School.