BANGKOK — The Thai government has appointed Onfa Vejjajiva as the new Secretary-General of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), making her the first woman to head the 75-year-old agency responsible for drawing up the country’s five-year development plans.
At its meeting on August 26, the Cabinet approved the appointment of Ms. Vejjajiva, currently Secretary-General of the Office of the Public Sector Development Commission (OPDC). She will assume her new position at NESDC on October 1, 2025, succeeding Danucha Pichayanan, who will be transferred to head the National Water Resources Department on the same date.
The Vejjajiva surname is well-known in Thai politics—Ms. Onfa is a cousin of former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and relative of Parit Wacharasindhu, the People’s Party spokesperson. However, she has built her career exclusively in public service, starting as a government fellow before joining the Cabinet Secretariat.
Ms. Onfa, 55, holds a bachelor’s degree in International Economics from Chulalongkorn University, a Master of Science in Policy Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a Master of Public Policy from Japan’s National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS).
Although her scholarship required only four years of civil service, she remained for 24 years, primarily in the Cabinet Secretariat, where she began as an IT systems specialist in 2010 and rose to Deputy Secretary-General in 2017. In 2019, she moved to OPDC as Deputy Secretary-General, became Secretary-General in 2020, and also served as an ex-officio member of the NESDC Board.
On January 28, the Cabinet extended her OPDC Board tenure for another year, from February 6, 2025, to February 5, 2026.
In media interviews, Ms. Onfa has described herself as “conscientious and straightforward.” She values factual accuracy and speaks directly, though her candor can sometimes surprise others. These qualities have been cited as key reasons for her appointment to head NESDC, an agency requiring objective and accurate information for national economic planning.
Her perspective on female leadership is that women have an advantage in helping to defuse tensions, particularly in stressful situations or confrontational meetings. This makes it easier to reach compromises and find solutions, something Thai society still respects about women.
However, she acknowledges that limitations can arise in cultures dominated by traditional male authority. Yet she believes this is less prevalent in Thai society, noting that Thailand provides considerable opportunities for women and people of other genders compared to other societies she has experienced.
The 2024 Report on the Status of Thai Women, published by the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, found that women held 25% of leadership positions in the public sector and comprised 27.7% of employers in the corporate sector.
________
