Pol.Lt.Col.Dr.Thaksin's interest in politics perhaps stems from his father's involvement in it when Thaksin was quite young. Lert Shinawatra entered local politics and successfully stood for the provincial council in 1967, becoming its chairman in 1968. A year later, in 1969, there was a general election and Lert rose to national politics as a member of parliament at the same time as political luminaries like Uthai Pimchaichon, Chuan Leekpai and Prida Phattanathabutra.

His father remained a member of parliament until 1976 when he assisted his younger brother Suraphan's election as his replacement. The period hadbeen a formative one for Pol.Lt.Col.Dr.Thaksin

He also saw politics first-hand when, as a policeman in 1975, he was police escort for Mr. Prida Phattanathabutra, Prime Minister's Office Minister in the Cabinet of Mom Rachawongse Kukrit Pramoj. This early contact with politics changed Pol.Lt.Col.Dr.Thaksin's view of society and shaped his political beliefs. In fact, his earliest political ambition was to clean up politics, recollecting that, "My dream was once to become the Secretary of the Counter Corruption Commission.."

Hands-on experience

Several eyebrows were raised when, on 2 November 1994, Pol.Lt.Col.Dr.Thaksin, the owner of the leading telecommunications group in the country, was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. He wanted to be accountable, to perform with "clean hands", so he resigned from every position in the Shinawatra Group before taking up the post. Why would he give up a thriving business to serve the public? "My family was already financially secure and my business was in good hands, so I thought why worry? It's about time to pay a little back to my country. In fact, I just wanted to devote my energies to helping the nation in some way."

Those 101 days of hands-on political leadership as Minister of Foreign Affairs were of considerable value and signalled changes in the direction and role of the Ministry. He introduced his own methods and ideas, reducing or cutting red tape. He also completely changed the Ministry's way of thinking, instituting what he calls "strategic policy-making" putting economics before politics to reflect global realities.

On 28 May 1995, Pol.Lt.Col.Dr.Thaksin accepted the position of leader of the Palang Dharma Party and stood for election that year in Constituency 2, Bangkok, winning by a significant margin. The new Prime Minister, Mr. Banharn Silpa-Archa, offered him the post of Deputy Prime Minister with responsibility for traffic and public transport. He caused quite a stir by calling on his party members to reveal their assets to the public before joining the government. This had always been anathema to old-style politicians but Thaksin believed his party should be accountable to the public and hoped to provide the impetus needed to change the political culture of the country.

When elements of discord later crept into the government and his own party, Thaksin realized he could make no headway under the incumbent system and withdrew from the government, resigning as leader of the Palang Dharma Party.

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The new politics

During a lecture on "The Role of Politicians in the 21st Century," at a seminar in Bonanza Condotel, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, 16-18 November 1997, Pol.Lt.Col.Dr.Thaksin reflected, "What should our politicians be like in the 21st century? We are not as ready for the year 2000 as other countries... whichever clique of politicians gets power only tries to solve immediate problems rather than lay the foundations for future growth. They simply don't look ahead....

"The movement toward globalization includes transparency, a system of checks and balances, participation, the quality of life and liberty. All of these are part of the new constitution, so we have to face it and adjust ourselves to it..."