Dr. Ekniti Nitithanprapas was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance on September 22, 2025. Dr. Ekniti was Director-General of the Revenue Department, Excise Department, Treasury Department, and State Enterprise Policy Office. Previously, he served as Ambassador for Economic and Fiscal Affairs to the United Kingdom and Europe, Senior Advisor to the Executive Director at the World Bank in Washington, D.C., and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance. In addition, he served as Chairman of the Board of Directors in various organizations including Krung Thai Bank Public Company Ltd. and Thai Airways International Public Company Ltd. Dr. Ekniti holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Claremont Graduate University, a Master’s from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Thammasat.
Dr. Ekniti is widely recognized for modernizing Thailand’s fiscal administration through digital innovation. He pioneered the adoption of digital technologies, such as blockchain, to process tourist VAT refunds, the first implementation of its kind in the world, earning the ASOCIO Digital Government Award for Asia & Oceania, the Thailand Digital Transformation Award, and the National Outstanding Innovation Award.
He also led the Excise Department’s transformation into a Green and ESG-oriented agency, initiating Thailand’s Carbon Tax policy framework to promote environmental sustainability. Furthermore, he introduced the PPP Fast Track mechanism, expediting large-scale public investment projects by reducing approval time from two years to just nine months.
Dr. Ekniti was the founding architect of the Thailand Future Fund (TFF), a landmark infrastructure fund that provides an alternative financing vehicle for the government, thereby reducing fiscal burdens and public debt. Earlier in the career, Dr. Ekniti co-founded the Macroeconomic Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Finance and developed Thailand’s macroeconomic forecasting and analytical system, solidifying his reputation as a leading fiscal and financial policy expert with over two decades of experience.
