Supachai panitchpakdi biography of michael

This little insight came from Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, the late much-revered Buddhist monk from Wat Suan Mokkh in Surat Thani’s Chaiya district, when he was serving as a Bank of Thailand official.

At the time, he was assigned to deal with several banks and finance companies that had folded and was coordinating with the Finance Ministry to bail them out.

But the task was a struggle he soon became unhappy with.

While on a work trip to Surat Thani, he turned to the revered monk for what he said was the spiritual guidance he needed to help him through those difficult times and later on in life.

He was to face a tough time again when he decided to enter the race to head the WTO in which he was written off as a rank outsider from the get-go.

“No one in this country supported me or gave me a chance because they thought there was no way any Thai or Asian person could ever assume this post,’’ Mr Supachai said.

After a fierce battle with his main rival — former New Zealand prime minister Mik