A decade ago, Akanat Promphan was co-leading People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) protests that set the stage for the 2014 military coup against Yingluck Shinawatra’s government.
Today, he finds himself appointed to the new Cabinet under Yingluck’s niece, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
The former Democrat rising star, now secretary-general of the ruling coalition’s United Thai Nation Party, has been accused of betraying the goal of overthrowing the "Thaksin regime", which PDRC leaders blamed for the country's corruption and political conflict.
Akanat brushed off the criticism on Wednesday, insisting that he remained firm in his original “declared conviction” and would prove that through his work.
“People have different ways of fulfilling their political views. The United Thai Nation Party and I have chosen what we believe is the best solution and perhaps the only one available. We are persisting in protecting the country’s major institution,” said Akanat, referring to the monarchy.
“You need to understand that threats and challenges facing the country have changed. This is a critical time when all of us must work together to solve the country’s problems.”
Joining ‘Thaksin regime’
Critics, however, say the young politician has ended up becoming part of the “evil” regime he once condemned after joining the government led by ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra’s daughter.
Akanat, 38, has been appointed the industry minister in Paetongtarn’s newly formed Cabinet.
The now-defunct PDRC was led by veteran politician Suthep Thaugsuban, a former Democrat Party secretary-general and Akanat’s stepfather.
In November 2013, the group launched Bangkok-wide protests against the Yingluck administration’s proposed blanket political amnesty.
The ensuing political chaos culminated in a military coup on May 22, 2014.
Yingluck served for nearly three years as Thailand’s first female prime minister and has now been succeeded by her niece Paetongtarn, who becomes the second.
An MP at 25
Akanat was born in Bangkok on January 12, 1986, as the second son of former deputy industry minister Pornthep Techapaibul and Srisakul Promphan.
His parents divorced after having three children together – two sons and a daughter. His mother later married Suthep.
After attending primary school in Bangkok, Akanat did his high schooling in Surrey, England.
He went on to earn bachelor's and master's degrees in engineering, economics and management (EEM) at the University of Oxford.
After returning to Thailand, Akanat joined the Democrat Party, an obvious choice given that his father, stepfather, and uncle were all senior Democrat politicians. Akanat’s mother is the sister of former agriculture minister and party veteran Niphon Promphan.
Akanat entered Parliament at the tender age of 25, becoming the youngest MP elected in the 2011 poll.
Two years later in 2013, he joined his stepfather Suthep and other Democrat MPs in leading protests against the political amnesty sponsored by Yingluck’s Pheu Thai-led government that would pardon crimes including murder and abuse of power.
The PDRC saw the proposed legislation as a ploy to whitewash Thaksin's corruption convictions and allow him to return from self-exile overseas without facing jail.
Thaksin faced multiple corruption charges stemming from his time in power between February 2001 and September 2006.
Acquitted by Appeal Court
Suthep established the PDRC in November 2013 after resigning as Democrat secretary-general and list MP. He appointed himself as PDRC secretary-general while Akanat became its spokesman.
The PDRC leadership included numerous staunch critics of Thaksin and the “Thaksin regime”.
Among them were academics, activists, politicians, former senators, retired generals, and journalists. Many were charged with serious crimes including treason, terrorism and sedition for their roles in the protests.
In February 2021, the Criminal Court sentenced Suthep to five years in prison, while other key PDRC figures received between four and 11 years. Akanat was among second-tier PDRC leaders handed two-year suspended jail terms.
In June, the Appeal Court reduced Suthep’s sentence to one year and those of other PDRC leaders to between eight and 20 months. Akanat was among 19 defendants who were acquitted on appeal.
As United Thai Nation’s number 2, Akanat was eligible for a ministerial seat when his party joined the Pheu Thai-led coalition government last September.
However, a legal case he was fighting at the time likely ruined his chances of appointment to the previous Cabinet under Srettha Thavisin.
Akanat joined United Thai Nation in 2022, a year after it was founded, and was elected its secretary-general in August that year.
The three-year-old party is led by Deputy Premier and Energy Minister Pirapan Salirathavibhaga, a fellow former Democrat.
