BANGKOK, June 30 — Permanent Secretary Sihasak Phuangketkeow of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Sunday that he was unaware of his transfer to become Thailand’s new ambassador to Japan.
Mr Sihasak, currently the most senior civil servant at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, told Thai News Agency (TNA) that he has served as permanent secretary for foreign affairs for nearly three years and was about to complete his term in office term and that it would be appropriate to be posted overseas.
Transfers depend on orders from supervisors, Mr Sihasak said. The most senior officer at the ministry would have to be appointed as his successor and that he believed that Norachit Sinhaseni, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Thailand to the United Nations, would be the most suitable officer to succeed him.
However, he noted, it depended on the decision of the supervisors.
A number of senior civil servants at departments or ministries were demoted or promoted after the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) seized power on May 22.
As many as 10 senior officers at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with C10 ranks must retire at the end of September upon reaching the compulsory retirement age of 60, said Mr Sihasak, adding that several reshuffles are necessary.
A foreign ministry spokesman said that so far there was no list of officers for transfer for the coming fiscal 2015, starting October 1, but consideration is underway.
