| Pongpol Adireksarn | |||||
| Native Name: | ปองพล อดิเรกสาร | ||||
| Native Name Lang: | th | ||||
| Nationality: | Thai | ||||
| Office: | Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand | ||||
| Term Start: | 17 February 2001 | ||||
| Term End: | 11 March 2005 | ||||
| Primeminister: | Thaksin Shinawatra | ||||
| Office1: | Minister to the Office of the Prime Minister | ||||
| Primeminister1: | Banharn Silpa-archa | ||||
| Term Start1: | 18 July 1995 | ||||
| Term End1: | 24 November 1996 | ||||
| Office2: | Minister of Foreign Affairs | ||||
| Term Start2: | 27 March 1992 | ||||
| Term End2: | 15 June 1992 | ||||
| Primeminister2: | Suchinda Kraprayoon | ||||
| Predecessor2: | Arsa Sarasin | ||||
| Successor2: | Arsa Sarasin | ||||
| Birth Date: | 23 March 1942 | ||||
| Birth Place: | Saraburi, Thailand | ||||
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Pongpol Adireksarn (Thai: ปองพล อดิเรกสาร, pen name Paul Adirex; born March 23, 1942) is a Thai novelist, documentarist and former politician.
Pongpol's father, Pramarn Adireksarn, was a Major-General of the Royal Thai Army who became a politician and co-founder of the conservative Thai Nation Party in 1973. His mother Charoen Adireksarn (née Choonhavan) was a sister of Chatichai Choonhavan, Thailand's prime minister from 1988 to 1991. Pongpol's maternal grandfather Field Marshal Phin Choonhavan was the leader of the 1947 coup d'état and commander-in-chief of the Thai army from 1948 to 1954. One of his aunts was married to police general Phao Sriyanond who was part of a triumvirate that ruled Thailand from 1952 to 1957. Pongpol is a scion of the powerful Soi Rajakru clan.[1] His brother Yongyol Adireksarn was also a politician.[2]
After attending the Catholic Saint Gabriel's College in Bangkok, Pongpol attended two universities in the United States, receiving a Bachelor of Arts from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1964 and a Master of Arts from American University in Washington, D.C. in 1966.
Upon returning to Thailand, he was hired by the Department of Economic Relations, Ministry of Economic Affairs, and then served in the Thai Department of Central Intelligence.
After the 1973 popular uprising, Pongpol worked in the private sector with such positions as managing director of Royal Mosaic Exports Co., Ltd., president of Thailand Leatherwork Co., Ltd., and president of Express Transport Organization.
As a member of his father's Thai Nation Party, Pongpol was a member of parliament, representing Saraburi Province from 1983 to 1986 and March to June 1992. From April to June 1992 he also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in Suchinda Kraprayoon's government. He served again as member of parliament from 1995 to 2000. He was Minister to the Office of the Prime Minister under his party colleague Banharn Silpa-archa from 1995 to 1996, and Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives under Chuan Leekpai from 1997 to 2000.
Then he switched to the Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT) of Thaksin Shinawatra under whose premiership he served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education from 2001 to 2003. After the 2006 coup d'état, the Constitutional tribunal dissolved the TRT party and banned all of its leading members, including Pongpol Adireksarn, from political offices for five years.
After losing the 1992 election and being out of politics temporarily, he started writing novels. He chose to use a pen name as he considered his Thai name to be to difficult for a foreign readership.[3]
He is also a photographer and documentary producer and presenter. Beyond The Blue Horizon is his nature travel documentary program aired early on Saturday mornings twice a month on Channel 3.[4]