Thaksin Shinawatra is a Thai businessman, who later joined politics and became the country’s Prime Minister in the beginning of 2000s. His family migrated from China in the middle of the eighteenth century and later took up the Thai surname of Shinawatra. By the time he was born it became one of the richest and most influential families in the Chiang Mai province. Starting his career as a police officer he went on to become a business tycoon in his own right. Later he joined politics and served as the country’s deputy prime minster for two brief periods. He was an efficient administrator. During his tenure as Prime Minister, national poverty fell from 21.3% to 11.3% and income in the poorest part of the country rose by 46%. He also started universal healthcare system, reformed education system and developed the country’s infrastructure. Although his anti-drug policy invited criticism from Amnesty International it effectively reduced drug consumption. Corruption also came down heavily. However, after a military coup in 2006, Thaksin himself was convicted of corruption and sentenced in absentia to two years imprisonment. He now lives in Dubai in exile.