Thailand’s most controversial and – by some measures – most popular Prime Minister in recent Thai history, Thaksin served in office from 2001 to 2006. He was deposed by a military coup and convicted in absentia of abusing power.

Prior to politics, Thaksin was a policeman who made it big selling computer to the force. He went on to found Shin Corporation and Advanced Info Service – the largest mobile phone operator in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.

In addition to the video interview on this blog , I had Thaksin’s first interview upon being elected Prime Minister in 2001.

As a fugitive from Thai justice living in exile, Thaksin splits his time between Hong Kong, Dubai and other countries that do not have extradition treaties with Thailand. He left Britain when his visa was revoked.

Thaksin obtained a master’s degree in Criminal Justice from Eastern Kentucky University in the United States in 1975, and three years later received a doctorate in Criminal Justice at Sam Houston State University in Texas, with a dissertation on “An Analysis of the Relationship Between the Criminal Justice Educational Process and the Attitude of the Student Toward the Rule of Law.”