Apirak Kosayodhin

Apirak Kosayodhin ( Thai: อภิรักษ์ โก ษะ โยธิน; born March 30, 1961 in Pak Kret, Nonthaburi Province) is a Thai manager and politician of the Democratic Party. From November 2004 to November 2008, he was the 14th Governor of Bangkok.

Education and professional career

Apirak studied at the University of Chiang Mai food science and food technology. He joined a degree in Master of Business Administration at the National Institute of Development Administration. One of his college friends was Yongyuth Tiyapairat, who later became a politician of the Thai Rak Thai Party and confidant of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was.

He started his working life in the food service chain Pizza Hut. Later he worked for the PepsiCo Group and its potato chips producing subsidiary Frito -Lay, the Thai branch he headed from 1994 to 2000. In 1997 he took a course in the Advanced Management Program of the American Harvard Business School. He then moved to the entertainment media and music company GMM Grammy, became its President and Chief Executive Officer. From 2002 to 2004 he was one of the chief executive of mobile operator TA Orange (now True move).

Political activity

In 2004 Apirak moved into politics and stood in for the Democratic Party at the Bangkok gubernatorial election. He won with 38.2 %, the non-party, supported by the Thai Rak Thai Party Pavena Hongsakul only came to 26%. He then managed, in place of Samak Sundaravej, who was no longer taken up, the self-governing authority in the Thai capital (Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, BMA). After a four-year tenure, he was confirmed in October 2008 with 45.9 % compared to 25.2% for Prapas Chongsanguan of the Party of People's Power in office.

However, only a month later, he resigned after the National Anti-Corruption Commission had opened a case against him. This referred to the case of the order of 315 fire engines and 30 - boot for the Bangkok Fire Department at Steyr- Daimler -Puch AG special vehicle (now General Dynamics European Land Systems ). The business was still under the previous administration of former Governor ( and later Prime Minister ) Samak Sundaravej under the then head of department of Disaster Management and Relief Athilak Tanchukiat and the then Deputy Interior Minister Pracha Thailand Maleenond significant participation been initiated. Samak had the contract been signed on his last day in office, Apirak presented after taking office, the associated guarantee, without even knowing of the illegal business. He stressed that his resignation was not an admission of guilt, but he only wanted to protect the office prior to involvement in a corruption investigation. The Bangkok Sukhumbhand Paribatra selected Apiraks party colleagues as his successor.

From 2009 Apirak worked as a consultant for his party colleague, the Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva active. In a by-election for a freigewordes direct mandate in the constituency Bangkok 2 he was elected with 69 % of the vote in parliament in December 2010. In the regular 2011 general election he was re-elected as the eighth on the party list of the Democrats. His party elected him as Deputy Chairman.

In September 2013 Apirak last instance was acquitted of the accusations of corruption, while Pracha was sentenced to a prison term of twelve and Athilak to ten years. They deprived themselves of their punishment by fleeing abroad.