He arrived in Washington,
D.C. on 3 December 2010 and presented
his credentials to President Barack Obama on 7 December 2010.
Ambassador Kittiphong
na Ranong is a native of Bangkok,
Thailand,
although his family roots lie in a southern province, Ranong, where his
ancestors served as governors for more than a few generations. Their distinguished service earned the
family’s surname of “na Ranong” (meaning “of Ranong Province”)
from King Rama VI.
A career diplomat,
Ambassador Kittiphong joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand in
1983 after a brief stint with the Bangkok Post, Thailand’s oldest English language
newspaper.
His first overseas
assignment was at the Permanent Mission of Thailand to the United Nations in Geneva from 1987-1990 when
the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations was underway and
transformed the GATT into the WTO.
He has had
extensive working experience on Southeast and Northeast Asia, including overseas
service as Ambassador to Vietnam
from 2006-2009 and Minister-Counsellor in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia,
from 1996-2000.
He has also served in
a number of senior positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand,
including Deputy Director-General of Department of East Asian Affairs (2000-2001),
Deputy Director-General of the Department of ASEAN Affairs (2002-2003), Director-General
of the Department of International Organizations (2003-2006) and Director-General
of the Department of East Asian Affairs (2009-2010). He was also seconded to the Royal Thai
Army’s Operation Centre from 1985 to 1986.
Ambassador
Kittiphong holds a B.A. in Political Sciences (First Class Honours) with
distinction from Chulalongkorn
University, Thailand.
Later, he earned a Master of Arts
in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher
School, Tufts University, USA
in 1981.
*****