Washington – H.E. Virachai Plasai, Thai ambassador to the United States, passed away at the age of 58 on Saturday, according to the Thai Embassy in Washington D.C.
Virachai had been battling primary bone cancer before succumbing to his illness in the early morning of March 16 (local time).
Born on June 9, 1960, Virachai received his doctorate in law in 1986 from the University of Paris (Pantheon-Sorbonne) in France.
Plasai assumed his position as the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand to the United States in June 2018. Prior to his appointment, Virachai was the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Thailand to the United Nations since March 2015. Among a number of notable achievements while serving at the United Nations, Virachai successfully led the Group of 77, the largest grouping of countries at the United Nations, as Chair of the Group of 77 for the year 2016.
From 2009-2015, Virachai was Ambassador of Thailand to the Netherlands, after serving his country in a variety of international economic, legal and diplomatic capacities.
Beginning his diplomatic service in 1987 in the Department of Political Affairs, Virachai progressed through posts in the Department of Treaties and Legal Affairs, eventually becoming Director-General of the Department of International Economic Affairs, in 2006, and of the Department of Treaties and Legal Affairs in 2008.
Among Virachai’s experiences in international litigation for Thailand, he served as the country’s Agent in the International Court of Justice for the case concerning the Temple of Phra Viharn for which a judgement was rendered in 2013.
