Economist Ekniti Nitithanprapas, executive Auttapol Rerkpiboon and diplomat Sihasak Phuangketkeow to run finance, energy and foreign ministries respectively.Published On 6 Sep 20256 Sep 2025Thailand’s Prime Minister-elect Anutin Charnvirakul has named a former finance ministry official, a top oil and gas executive, and a respected diplomat to run the finance, energy and foreign ministries, respectively.Anutin announced the appointments on Saturday, saying his first cabinet picks would “bring confidence” to a country shaken by political and economic upheaval.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listHe said economist Ekniti Nitithanprapas, energy executive Auttapol Rerkpiboon and diplomat Sihasak Phuangketkeow were “top executives in the organisations they will be responsible for”.Ekniti is a finance ministry official who was once seen as a candidate for central bank governor, while Auttapol helmed the country’s largest company, the state-owned energy firm, PTT Group.The foreign service will see former permanent secretary Sihasak return as minister as a fragile truce with neighbouring Cambodia holds, after a border clash flared into a five-day conflict that left at least 43 dead in July.The appointments, which will become official after receiving royal approval, came a day after Anutin was elected the prime minister, outmanoeuvring the most successful political party in Thailand’s history.Anutin’s rout of rival contender Chaikasem Nitisiri on Friday was a humiliation for the ruling Pheu Thai party, the populist juggernaut of influential billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra, who left Thailand late on Thursday for Dubai, where he spent the bulk of his 15 years of self-imposed exile.The political crisis was triggered in June by Anutin’s withdrawal from Pheu Thai’s alliance, followed by last week’s dismissal by a Thai court of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thaksin’s daughter and protege. Advertisement The Supreme Co …
