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Krasae Chanawongse

Advisor to the Prime Minister of Thailand and former Minister of University Affairs and former Minister of Foreign Affairs

Professor Krasae was born into a poor family in Khon Kaen Province in North East Thailand in 1934. At the age of thirteen he had to leave school to earn money to support his family by doing odd jobs in a shop and selling drinking water to train passengers. However, his potential was soon spotted by a far-sighted Member of Parliament for Khon Kaen who arranged for him to continue his education in Bangkok. He passed through high school and eventually Thailand's oldest medical school Siriaj Medical School at Mahidol University. Later, he earned a graduate diploma in public health at London University, a doctorate in public health at Columbia University, and an honorary doctorate in humanities at Baguio University.

After receiving his M.D., Dr. Krasae returned to work in a government hospital in his rural home district where doctors were sorely needed. Subsequently, he became the Founding Director of the ASEAN Primary Health Care Training Center and the Master Degree Program in Primary Health Care at the ASEAN Institute of Health Development at Mahidol University, Director of the Research and Development Institute at Khon Kaen University, Professor in Public Health at Mahidol University, Founding Director of the Master in Rural Development Management Program and Visiting Professor of the Doctoral Degree Program in Development Management Science in the Department of Humanity at Khon Kaen University.

Internationally, he has been the Chief Expert of the United Nations FPA in Bangladesh; Technical Advisor for WHO in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar and Nepal; a Teaching Fellow at Columbia University; a Visiting Professor at Hawaii University, and a member of the International Board Committee of the Asian Information Center in Kobe, Japan.

In 1974 he was elected to Parliament as a member for Khon Kaen and later Bangkok. He was appointed Deputy Minister of Health in 1979, Deputy Governor (Medical and Health Services and Public Welfare) of Bangkok in 1993, Minister of University Affairs in 1994, Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1995, Minister to the Prime Minister's Office in 2001-2002, and Advisor to the Prime Minister in 2002 - present.