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Supachai Panitchpakdi
Supachai Panitchpakdi (born 1946 in Bangkok, Thailand) is director-general of the World Trade Organization since September 1, 2002.
In 1986 Supachai Panitchpakdi was appointed as Thailand's Deputy Minister of Finance, but when the parliament was dissolved in 1988 he left politics and became president of the Thai Military Bank. In 1992 he returned to politics and became Deputy Prime Minister until 1995, responsible for trade and economics. During the Asian financial crisis in November 1997 he returned to be Deputy Prime Minister and also became Minister of Commerce.
In September 1999 he was elected to become director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO), sharing the post with competitor Mike Moore when a decision could not be reached. Taking the second half of the six year term, he entered office on September 1, 2002.
In March 2005 he was appointed to become the secretary-general of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) following his term at the WTO.
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