Thai king swears in new cabinet ministers following reshuffle

Jan 23, 2012, 12:59 GMT

Bangkok - Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej swore into office a dozen new ministers on Monday, resulting from a reshuffle of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's cabinet.

The swearing-in ceremony took place at Bangkok's Siriraj Hospital, where the king - who is head of state - has spent the past two years.

Yingluck announced a cabinet reshuffle last week as a bid to improve her government's 'efficiency.'

The new ministers include some controversial appointees, such as Nalinee Taveesin as minister in the premier's office. She is blacklisted by the US Treasury Department for alleged business dealings with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace.

Nalinee, a former businesswoman with diverse trade interests, told a press conference Sunday that the blacklisting did not mean she had committed crimes.

'It means that American people can't do business with me and I am prohibited from holding assets in the US,' she said. 'The sanctions cover only American citizens. They have nothing to do with people of other countries and their governments.'

Another controversial figure was the new deputy agriculture minister, Nattawut Saikua, who gained fame as a fiery orator during 'red shirt' demonstrations against the then-government in 2010, which resulted in 92 deaths and left parts of the capital in flames.

His appointment was seen as compensation for helping to bring the Yingluck government to power.

He is also seen as a loyalist to Yingluck's brother, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was deposed by a coup in 2006 and fled the country to escape a criminal conviction for abuse of power.

Many analysts saw Thaksin's hand in the cabinet reshuffle, with several of his loyalists due to take office.

On the economic front, the reshuffle saw former finance minister Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala lose his post to Kittirat Na-Ranong, the former commerce minister.

Thirachai, an appointed technocrat, allegedly fell out of favour with the Yingluck administration when he tried to defend the Bank of Thailand against efforts by Kittirat, who is also a deputy prime minister, to saddle the central bank with 1.14 trillion baht in debts left from the 1997 financial crisis.

Thirachai warned, in a posting on his Facebook page, that the government was trying to conceal the true extent of its public debt in order to give itself more leeway in borrowing.

'Fiscal discipline should be determined by economic principles, not political convenience,' Thiracahi said.