Veerathai Santiprabhob
Veerathai Santiprabhob | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 25, 1969 |
| Occupation(s) | Economist, Central banker |
| Known for | Governor of the Bank of Thailand (2015–2020) |
Veerathai Santiprabhob () (born 25 December 1969) held the position of Governor at the Bank of Thailand from 1 October 2015 until 30 September 2020.
Early life and education
Veerathai was born to Police General Prathin Santiprapop, who formerly served as Chief of Police, and Kuntala Santipipop. On his maternal side, he is the grandson of Phraya Bhichai Ronnarongsongkharm, who once commanded the 1st Division.
He earned a degree in Economics with first-class honors from Thammasat University in 1988 when he was only 18 years old. During his studies, he received numerous academic distinctions, including four gold medals and the prestigious Bhumibol Scholarship. Benefiting from an Anandamahidol scholarship, Veerathai pursued graduate studies at Harvard University, where he obtained both his MA in 1991 and PhD in 1994 in Economics. He completed his doctoral dissertation on "Financial Liberalization in Southeast Asia" under the mentorship of economist Dwight H. Perkins at the age of 24.
Career
Veerathai's professional journey began at the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC, where he provided advisory services to governments and central banks. Amid Thailand's financial crisis in 1997, he transitioned from the IMF to become co-director at the Economic Policy Research Institute within the Fiscal Policy Office of the Ministry of Finance. In this role, he played a significant part in designing economic stimulus measures and implementing reforms to financial institutions.
From 2000 through 2008, Veerathai was employed by Siam Commercial Bank Public Company Limited, where he spearheaded extensive organizational restructuring following the crisis. His responsibilities encompassed liquidity management, asset-liability oversight, credit policy formulation, investment management, and supervision of financial subsidiaries. Additionally, he contributed as a member of the risk management committee at Thanachart Bank.
Between 2009 and 2013, serving as Vice President at the Stock Exchange of Thailand, Veerathai focused on enhancing corporate planning strategies and advancing capital market development initiatives. His leadership helped raise the international standing of the Thai Stock Exchange and promoted collaboration among ASEAN stock exchanges.
Veerathai was appointed as the 20th Governor of the Bank of Thailand beginning on October 1, 2015, a position he held until September 30, 2020. Throughout his governorship, achieving inflation targets proved challenging, with the Bank consistently falling short of its inflation objectives over the entire five-year period.