Former Thai Foreign Minister H.E. Dr. Tej Bunnag was
unanimously approved as the next Chairman of the Board of
Trustees of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) at a meeting of the
AIT Board of Trustees held on 20 November 2008.
Dr. Tej becomes the seventh chairman in the forty-nine
year history of AIT. Preceding him were Professor Puey Ungpakorn,
Professor Oscar Mapua, Dr. Thanat Khoman (Chairman Emeritus), M. L.
Birabhongse Kasemsri, H.E. Mr. Anand Panyarachun and H.E Dr. Tej
himself from 31 October 2006 to 8 July 2008.
The President of the Asian Institute of Technology, Prof. Said
Irandoust, offered warm congratulations to H.E. Dr. Tej on behalf of
the Institute.
Dr. Tej first joined AIT as member of its Board on 25 April 2005 and
was appointed as Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee the same
year. He was first elected as Chairman of the Board on 30 October 2006,
replacing H.E. Mr. Anand Panyarachun, the former Prime Minister of
Thailand.
Earlier this year, Dr. Tej was sworn in as Minister of Foreign
Affairs of Thailand when His Majesty the King of Thailand issued a
royal command on July 26. Following his appointment as
Thailand’s Foreign Minister, Dr. Tej resigned from the Chairmanship and
Board of Trustees.
Dr. Tej currently also serves as Assistant Secretary General of
the Thai Red Cross Society. Prior to that he had an outstanding
career in the Thai foreign service, where he served as Permanent
Secretary of the Ministry; Ambassador to the United States, France,
People’s Republic of China and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
and as Permanent Representative of Thailand to UNESCO in Paris and the
United Nations office in Geneva. Dr. Tej earned his D. Phil. from
Oxford University (St. Antony’s College) and B.A. and M.A. from
Cambridge University (King’s College).
Announcement on The Nation:
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/topstory/read.php?newsid=30089816