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Abhisit Vejjajiva ((タイ語:อภิสิทธิ์ เวชชาชีวะ); ((Thai pronunciation )); IPA:(:ʔà.pʰí.sìt wêːt.tɕʰāː.tɕʰīː.wáʔ) ; born 3 August 1964) is a Thai politician who was the 27th prime minister of Thailand from 2008 to 2011 and is the current leader of the Democrat Party. As leader of the second largest party in the House of Representatives, he was also leader of the opposition – a position he held from December 2008 until his party's en masse resignation from the House on 8 December 2013. That same month, he was formally charged with murder resulting from a crackdown on demonstrators in 2010 that killed 90 people. Born in England, Abhisit attended Eton College and earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Oxford. He was elected to the Parliament of Thailand at the age of 27, and promoted to Democrat Party leader in 2005, after his predecessor resigned following the party's defeat in the 2005 general election. Abhisit was appointed prime minister of Thailand on 17 December 2008, after the Constitutional Court of Thailand removed Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat from office. At age 44, he was the country's youngest prime minister in more than 60 years. Abhisit became premier at a time of global economic turmoil and rising domestic political tensions. As prime minister, he promoted a "People's Agenda," which focused primarily on policies affecting the living conditions of Thailand's rural and working class citizens.〔Global Asia, (People's Agenda: The Way Forward for Thailand ), Volume 2, Number 2, Fall 2007〕 He administered two economic stimulus packages: a US$40 billion, three-year infrastructure improvement plan, and a more than US$3 billion program of cash subsidies and handouts.〔Forbes, (Thai Prime Minister Extolls Economic Turnaround ), 24 September 2010〕 By 2010, the stock market and the value of the baht had rebounded to their highest levels since the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Human Rights Watch called Abhisit "the most prolific censor in recent Thai history" and Freedom House downgraded Thailand's rating of media freedom to "not free."〔Human Rights Watch, (Thailand: Authorities Silence ‘Red Shirt’ Community Radios ), 27 April 2011〕〔 〕 Abhisit also advocated for stronger anti-corruption measures, although several members of his Cabinet resigned due to corruption scandals and parts of his economic stimulus packages were criticized for instances of alleged corruption. Abhisit's government faced major protests in April 2009 and April–May 2010. The military's crackdowns on protesters left many dead.〔 〕 Abhisit launched a reconciliation plan to investigate the crackdown, but the work of the investigation commission was hampered by military and government agencies.〔 〕 The Thai Army clashed with Cambodian troops numerous times from 2009 to 2010 in the bloodiest fighting in over two decades.〔 〕 The South Thailand insurgency escalated during Abhisit's government, and reports of torture and human rights violations increased. Having resigned the party leadership after the defeat the Democrats suffered in the parliamentary elections of 2011, Abhisit was re-elected as leader at a party assembly. ==Early life and family== Mark Abhisit Vejjajiva was born in Wallsend, Newcastle upon Tyne, England. He studied in England from the age of 11, where he attended Eton College and was known as "Veggie" amongst his peers.〔 〕 Abhisit earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy, politics and economics (PPE), first class honours, and a master's degree in economics from St John's College, Oxford. While studying in England, he went to Thailand several times, including a gap year trip in 1983 with classmate and future London Mayor Boris Johnson to the resort city of Chiang Mai and the island of Phuket. After moving to Thailand, he received a bachelor's degree in law from Thailand's Ramkhamhaeng University, and taught at Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy and Thammasat University Faculty of Economics.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The Official Abhisit Vejjajiva Website )〕 He is fluent in both his mother tongue and the English language, and has dual Thai and British citizenship. His dual citizenship became a topic for the Thai parliamentary debates in early 2011. He is ethnically Han Chinese.〔http://www.whoswho-thailand.com/listings/politician/abhisit-vejjajiva.html〕 Abhisit is married to Pimpen Sakuntabhai, his classmate at the Chulalongkorn University Demonstration elementary school, who is a former dentist and is now a lecturer at the Department of Mathematics at Chulalongkorn University. They have two children: Prang Vejjajiva (daughter) and Pannasit Vejjajiva (son). Pannasit has suffered from autism since birth. After his majority, the Central Juvenile and Family Court adjudged him quasi-incompetent and placed him under the guardianship of Abhisit, his father, as from 3 September 2012.〔 Abhisit also has two sisters: child psychiatrist Alisa Wacharasindhu and author Ngarmpun Vejjajiva.〔(The S.E.A. Write Awards a Thai Airways Sponsored Programme )〕 One of Abhisit's first cousins, Suranand Vejjajiva was a cabinet minister under Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party and served as the Prime Minister's Secretary General under Yingluck Shinawatra. Suranand's father, Nissai Vejjajiva served as the ambassador to various countries between the 1960s to 1980s and is the older brother of Abhisit's father, Athasit.〔(Practical report–Vejjajiva family ), 22 May 2012〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Abhisit Vejjajiva」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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