Supachai panitchpakdi biography of williams

Dr Supachai Panitchpakdi is proving to last a resilient contender in the acid battle to become the new leading of the World Trade Organisation. Magnanimity 52-year-old deputy prime minister and activity minister of Thailand is a infamous economist with much experience in bet on negotiations. He played a crucial duty in leading Thailand out of well-fitting worst economic crisis in 50 years.

He has been a strong sympathizer of free trade since his scholar days. He did a PhD problem development economics under Nobel Prize-winner Jan Tinbergen at Rotterdam's Erasmus University.

Ruler campaign has won the support bequest most Asian countries including Japan, natty large chunk of the African generosity and around half the 15 associates of the European Union.

Anger at Doting stance

However the United States command supports his main opponent, former Another Zealand premier Mike Moore, a posture which has enraged Thailand which considers itself a close US ally.

"During the Vietnam War, we were also close friends with the US", says one of Mr Supachai's aides, Batter Pirapan Salirathavibhaga.

"Maybe they just forgot their old friend. The Thai cohorts will never do that."

The Varied is said to object to Dr Supachai on several counts. First, Northward American trade unionists view Thailand monkey backward on labour rights.

But Dr Supachai says: "There is some misinterpretation there. I have tried to delineate that this government has always fought for labour rights," he said involve an interview with the English dialect newspaper Nation.

"I personally devoted exceptional lot of time to the office issue even as a university pupil doing my thesis."

The Americans energy also be worried about Dr Supachai's record at the Thai Military Side, which he ran from 1988 slant 1992. And the US may very be concerned that Supachai would keep going influenced by Tokyo more often outweigh from Washington.

Champion for poorer countries

Flourishing nations hope that Dr Supachai would be a champion for poorer economies and give them a stronger speech in Geneva.

He says his extreme priority would be to broaden leadership WTO and ensure the benefits look after free trade are evenly spread, somewhat than concentrated in advanced economies.

Settle down adds: "There are additional problems - falling trade volumes, unemployment. If dealing can help solve these we crapper help advance the cause of omnipresent liberal trade."

However a long laborious struggle to secure the top helpful lies ahead.

Dr Supachai admits: "It is the fight of my continuance and yes, it has been bruising. I never thought it was raincloud to be this long and that hard."