Former economist and member of the Seri Thai (Free Thai) movement during World War II, the late Puey Ungphakorn, has been named by Unesco as one of the world's most important people for his "impeccable ethics".
Puey: Named as key world figure
The honour, to mark what would-be his 100th birthday this year, was revealed by Thammasat University rector Somkit Lertpaithoon. He said Thursday Unesco approved the proposal on Wednesday, Puey's birthday.
It was in recognition of Puey's role in laying the foundations of Thailand's economic development. He was also "a prominent educator and civil servant of impeccable ethics", Mr Somkit said.
In 1965, Puey received the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize, for government service. Born in Bangkok in 1916, he started his career in 1933 as a teacher at Assumption College, and studied at Thammasat University.
Later he won a scholarship to pursue undergraduate and doctorate studies at the London School of Economics, which paved the way for his work at the Finance Ministry and the Bank of Thailand, where he was governor between 1957 and 1971. During World War II, Puey joined the Seri Thai underground movement to fight the Japanese occupation of Thailand.
He was rector of Thammasat during the Oct 6, 1976 massacre of students on campus by right-wing forces. Puey left for England where he lived in self-exile until his death in 1999, aged 83.