19 minutes ago, kimamey said:

Do you know where he lived when he was born? Doesn't look very middle class to me. Things improved but he wasn't born middle class.

he is a Geordie 

30 minutes ago, kimamey said:

Do you know where he lived when he was born? Doesn't look very middle class to me. Things improved but he wasn't born middle class.

Born upper middle class, perhaps. His father was a professor, a doctor, working in Newcastle at the time of Abhisit's birth.

To quote Wikipedia:

Mark Abhisit Vejjajiva was born to ethnic Chinese parents in Princess Mary Maternity Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom.^[25] He attended Chulalongkorn University Demonstration School as a child. He studied in England from the age of eleven, where he attended prep school at Scaitcliffe and then Eton College.^[26][27]

30 minutes ago, MikeandDow said:

he is a Geordie 

Yes but that covers a big area and many classes of people. I was thinking more of the road he lived in, Marondale Ave. I think it was 30 something.

Abhisit's father, Dr Atthasit, served as a deputy public health minister and a president of the Royal Society.

He was also the president of Mahidol University and a former senator.

While dean of Ramathibodi Hospital's faculty of medicine, he initiated a project establishing its Advanced Diagnostic Imaging Centre.

A distinguished career.

 

2 hours ago, kimamey said:

Do you know where he lived when he was born? Doesn't look very middle class to me. Things improved but he wasn't born middle class.

You don't go to Eton and Oxford if you're middle class. Unless, of course, his grades were so impressive he was awarded a King's Scholarship. No record of that. He was born in the UK and holds dual citizenship. Good for leaving suddenly, eh. Like Giles Ungpakorn.

On 10/19/2025 at 4:26 AM, CMHomeboy78 said:

+1

He was - and is - a decent politician.

Maybe too decent  for the cesspool of Thai politics.

So decent that he refused to dissolve the House in 2010 and provide a peacefull solution to the crisis, in order to make sure that Prayut would be appointed army chief in September! 😆

15 minutes ago, candide said:

So decent that he refused to dissolve the House in 2010 and provide a peacefull solution to the crisis, in order to make sure that Prayut would be appointed army chief in September! 😆

 

Smart move

50 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

 

Smart move

For sure.

Whatever else he is - or isn't - he isn't a Shin lackey.

14 hours ago, bannork said:

Didn't he resign when the Democrat party elected to join Prayut?

It could be argued he took the wrong step to the premiership years before that when the army persuaded Newin's faction to desert Thaksin and support the Democrats.

Regarding his English ability, he's streets ahead of any of the Shinawats.

As for his character, like nearly all the Democrat MPs, he's from a very middle class background and finds it hard to relate to the grass roots.

Having said that, the Democrats swept Bangkok not so long ago and originally had the South as their own.

Too staid and dreadful public relations lead to the Democrats' demise imo, but they could rally to their side some middle class and traditionalists who are more liberal than the nationalists and junta supporters, yet are put off by the more radical agenda of the People's Party.

I can't see the young voting for them though.

 

Resigned because there was no place at the trough for him. Pushed aside, he left humiliated. The reality is that since he left office, he really has not accomplished much. No educational or humanitarian foundation or presence. 

15 hours ago, bannork said:

He didn't come to power after a coup. 

Call it what you want but he sure as hell was not elected to the position. 

9 hours ago, pegman said:

Call it what you want but he sure as hell was not elected to the position. 

That's true. It was underhand the way he became PM. 

For those of us around in Thailand since or before the millennium, the strength of support for Thaksin and his populist policies, plus his vast wealth, meant there were no possible rivals to his increasingly authoritarian rule. His dominance was absolute.

Hence when Somchai, Thaksin's brother-in-law was removed as PM and various parties dissolved, the opposition to Thaksin saw an opening for Abhisit to assume the premiership with Newin's MPs supporting him.

' Boss, it's over,' Newin's famous remark to Thaksin and then that infamous photo of the taller, more powerful Newin hugging the cringing Abhisit.

Of course the red shirts were rightly up in arms ( part pun intended) and the Democrats experiment in 'Thai style democracy' failed.

It took further events for many red shirts to realise Thaksin never gave a fig about democracy, he's only ever cared about his family's dominance.

I would like Abhisit and other Democrat MPs on the more liberal side to join up with the People's Party. They could offer some much needed experience and their policies resonate on the whole. 

If only the 112 issue could be resolved.

Actually in this photo Abhisit looks happy being hugged by the Mr Big from Buriram, but I'm sure I recall a photo where he looks less happy being embraced, lol 

On 10/19/2025 at 7:06 AM, JoePai said:

Maybe down to the fact he had a good education

he did - I was at school with him ...Scaitecliffe...very nice fella , good at football out on the right wing , honourable and hard working on many education iniatives here. He is a safe pair of hands.unfortunately his party is well out of line with the voters -whereas PPP is a bit leaderless .Either he should go work with the PPP  party or they merge.do their policies align ?

On 10/21/2025 at 9:07 AM, bannork said:

Actually in this photo Abhisit looks happy being hugged by the Mr Big from Buriram, but I'm sure I recall a photo where he looks less happy being embraced, lol 

He doesn’t look Chinese.

I heard he has dual nationality, which Thailand doesn’t clearly allow. 

4 minutes ago, JimCM said:

I heard he has dual nationality, which Thailand doesn’t clearly allow. 

You want to call my kids and tell them that?

 

Better check your facts. Thailand  does allow dual citizenship without any problems at all. What ever possessed you to post that?

7 minutes ago, marin said:

You want to call my kids and tell them that?

 

Better check your facts. Thailand  does allow dual citizenship without any problems at all. What ever possessed you to post that?

It doesn’t technically allow it, don’t you remember Mark being hounded by opposition MP?

The law says your kids should choose one when they are 20, although this is not enforced. 

No Jim you better read up on it. Here are two sites plus and AI overview.  

 

As the father of 27 year old twins who live in America I keep on this as their work takes them back and forth often. They have held and still do two passports and have never been questioned. 

 

 

https://thaicitizenship.com/category/featured/

 

https://www.siam-legal.com/thailand-law/dual-citizenship-under-thai-nationality-law/

 

AI Overview

 

Yes, Thailand allows dual citizenship, meaning a person can hold both Thai citizenship and another country's citizenship simultaneously. Under current Thai law, there is no requirement to renounce one's original nationality to become a Thai citizen, nor is there a legal requirement for a Thai citizen to renounce their Thai citizenship if they acquire a foreign one. However, the individual must still comply with the laws of their other country of citizenship, as some countries do not permit dual citizenship.