Chavalit Yongchaiyudh is Thailand’s politician and retired General. His wealth political experience were occupied more than half of his life. From 1986 to 1990 he was the Commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army (RTA), and Supreme Commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces from 1987 to 1990. In 1990 he founded the New Aspiration Party which he led until 2002. He was Thailand’s 22nd Prime Minister from 1996 to 1997. At various times he has held the positions of Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, Minister of the Interior, Minister of Labour and Leader of the Opposition.
Under Chavalit’s leadership, the army began projects for rural development. For these projects he provided large corporations with lucrative contracts so that he had made a contribution to the rural development of both underdeveloped North Eastern region and conflict ridden Southern provinces of Thailand. Chavalit controlled 126 military-run radio stations and two of the country’s five television networks. Chavalit agreed to make military stations available for an anti-AIDS campaign. He also agreed to help Meechai Viravaidyaspearhead a three-year blitz to halt the spread of the disease. It’s worth mentioning that Chavalit made an important contribution to the friendship development between China and Thailand.
