Pornthiva Nakasai

Minister of Commerce, Thailand

Date of Birth: 06/06/1961

Education: BA, political science, Ramkhamhaeng University; Masters in Public Administration, Thammasat University.

Career: Elected to the House of Representatives, 2006; Minister of Commerce, 2009 to date.

Commentary: If effort can be measured in miles, Thailand's Commerce Minister is earning her pay. Nakasi travelled constantly in 2009, leading a delegation in late April to Nigeria, the largest African importer of Thai rice.

Nakasi is fighting a contraction of Thailand's export-driven economy. Although demand is falling for manufactured goods, it remains strong for farm exports and Africa has a growing appetite for Thailand's crops. Rice accounted for US$2.6 billion of $6.8 bn. in exports to Africa in 2008, a 113% increase on the previous year.

Nakasi hails from a leading business family whose real-estate empire includes Bangkok's biggest massage parlour, the ten-storey Poseidon. She is a member of the Bhum Jai Thai (Thai Pride) Party, the second-strongest of the six parties in the coalition government.