The Cabinet has formally acknowledged the appointment of Nalinee Taveesin as Thai Trade Representative and an advisor to the prime minister.
Nalinee was born on February 12, 1960, as Nalinee Suthipak. She married Pitinan Taveesin and when they divorced some years later, Nalinee kept the family name.
She previously served serve as a Thai Trade Representative under then prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra in 2011. She was later appointed as PM’s Office Minister, overseeing several government agencies, including the Royal Academy, the National Research Council of Thailand and the Office of the National Economic and Social Advisory Council.
In January 2012, she was accused of having business connections with the Zimbabwean regime. This subsequently led to the US imposing financial sanctions on Nalinee. Nonetheless, she refused to step down, insisting that she had done nothing illegal and her affiliations with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his wife, Grace were strictly social.
The US Treasury Department imposed the sanctions on her for her alleged involvement in financial, real estate and gem transactions on behalf of Robert Mugabe’s spouse.
Nalinee left the position in October 2012 and, about a month later, she replaced Worawi Makudi as Thai Trade Representative.
