31 July 1965

Puey honoured for public service

Dr Puey Ungphakorn, governor of the Bank of Thailand and dean of Thammasat University’s Faculty of Economics, won the 1965 Ramon Magsaysay Award for government service, becoming the second Thai to capture what is commonly regarded as Asia’s version of the Nobel Prize.

After Gen Sarit Thanarat had seized power in a coup in 1957, Puey was appointed director of the Budget Bureau, director of the Fiscal Policy Office and governor of the Bank of Thailand.

‘The career of Dr Puey confirms that a single individual can make significant contributions to the progress of his country,’ said the award foundation.

Born of an immigrant Chinese fishmonger and a second-generation Thai-Chinese mother, Puey was among the first students to enrol at Thammasat University. After graduating he won a scholarship to study at the London School of Economics. He served in the Free Thai resistance during World War II, and was awarded an MBE. After the war, he returned to the UK to complete his PhD in economics.

31 July 1965

Puey honoured for public service

Dr Puey Ungphakorn, governor of the Bank of Thailand and dean of Thammasat University’s Faculty of Economics, won the 1965 Ramon Magsaysay Award for government service, becoming the second Thai to capture what is commonly regarded as Asia’s version of the Nobel Prize.

After Gen Sarit Thanarat had seized power in a coup in 1957, Puey was appointed director of the Budget Bureau, director of the Fiscal Policy Office and governor of the Bank of Thailand.

‘The career of Dr Puey confirms that a single individual can make significant contributions to the progress of his country,’ said the award foundation.

Born of an immigrant Chinese fishmonger and a second-generation Thai-Chinese mother, Puey was among the first students to enrol at Thammasat University. After graduating he won a scholarship to study at the London School of Economics. He served in the Free Thai resistance during World War II, and was awarded an MBE. After the war, he returned to the UK to complete his PhD in economics.