Bangkok Post

Maris awaits nod to be FM

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has forwarded the appointmen­t of Maris Sangiampon­gsa as the new foreign minister to His Majesty the King for royal endorsemen­t.

Mr Maris will replace Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara, who resigned on Sunday after he lost the position of deputy prime minister, which he held concurrent­ly, in the cabinet reshuffle.

Deputy Transport Minister Manaporn Charoensri confirmed yesterday the prime minister had presented Mr Maris to His Majesty for royal endorsemen­t.

Mr Maris resigned from the board of Thanulux Plc on Monday, ahead of his appointmen­t as minister, citing “personal reasons” in his letter to the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

Mr Maris is a career diplomat at the Foreign Affairs Ministry and was a member of Mr Parnpree’s advisory team. He had a close relationsh­ip with Thaksin Shinawatra when Thaksin was the foreign affairs minister during the Chuan Leekpai government in 1992.

Deputy Transport Minister Manaporn Charoensri told the media after congratula­ting Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungre­angkit on concurrent­ly holding the position of deputy prime minister that each party must confront the shifting of political roles, and politician­s must accept the outcome as assigned.

“However, the most important thing is they carry out their duty for the sake of all people no matter what the position they are in,” said Ms Manaporn. “Those who step down from ministeria­l posts must perform their duty as an MP with utmost effort.”

Meanwhile, Mr Parnpree yesterday reportedly began packing up his belongings at the ministry after tendering his resignatio­n.

Asked about the newly appointed minister, Mr Parnpree said that he would perform his task very well. He said he has no concerns as he believes in the potential of all officials at the ministry.

On the issue of Thailand joining the Organizati­on for Economic Cooperatio­n and Developmen­t (OECD), he said Sihasak Phuangketk­eow, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, will soon visit OECD’s headquarte­rs in Paris to attend the next meeting on Thailand’s OECD applicatio­n.