Pisan Manawapat

Ambassador of Thailand to the Republic of India

Born in 1956, Pisan Manawapat attended Bangkok Christian College and Triam U-dom School in Bangkok. In 1975, he won a Foreign Ministry scholarship to read Economics in the U.K. He then graduated with B.Sc. (Econ) and M.Sc. (Econ), major in International Trade, from the London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London, in 1981. He also attended Thailand's National Defence College in 2003.

After graduation, Pisan received training at the Permanent Mission of Thailand to the UN Offices in Geneva before beginning his foreign service career in the ASEAN Department. His first overseas posting was in Washington, D.C. (1986-1990) where he also served as an APSA congressional fellow to a U.S. representative and a U.S. senator during 1986-1987. From 1991 to 1992, he served as an assistant to Foreign Minister Arsa Sarasin and, a year later, was assigned to the Royal Thai Embassy in Kuala Lumpur as Minister Counsellor. During 1995-1998, Pisan served as the Director of the Personnel Division and the Deputy Director-General of the Department of East Asian Affairs, respectively, before assuming the position of Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission at the Royal Thai Embassy in Tokyo (1999-2002).

In February 2002, he was appointed Ambassador attached to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand to oversee bureaucratic reform of Thai representation overseas. He then assumed the position of the Director-General of the Department of International Economic Affairs from October 2002 until March 2004, during which he also served as the APEC SOM Leader for Thailand while Thailand hosted APEC 2003.

By Royal Command on 18 March 2004, Pisan was appointed Deputy Permanent Secretary supervising all bilateral relations. He was also Thailand's Chief Negotiator for the Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement (JTEPA) from 2002-2006.

Between April 2007 and March 2011, Pisan served in Brussels as Ambassador Plenipotentiary to Belgium, Luxembourg and Head of the Mission of Thailand to the European Union.

A Royal Decoration of Grand-Croix de l'Ordre de la Couronne was bestowed on Ambassador Pisan Manawapat by H.M. King Albert II, the King of the Belgians, on 21 February 2011. He also received the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Star of Japan in 2002.

On 5 December 2011, Ambassador Pisan was bestowed with the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant.

He arrived to take up his new position in New Delhi in late March 2011.

Married to Wanchana Manawapat with one daughter.