There was little sur-prise yesterday when the bow-tie-wearing diplomat Nitya Pibul-songgram was named foreign minister.

That's partly because of his close connection with the junta's "godfather", Privy council president Prem Tinsulanonda, who gave the final nod to the new Cabinet line-up.

An inside source said their

strong relationship stems from 1982 when his wife Patricia Osmond, whose Thai name was Pacharin Pibulsonggram, taught English to then prime minister Prem.

Sawanit Kongsiri, 64, a former ambassador to many countries, was picked as deputy minister.

One analyst said the selection of two career diplomats - Nitya, 65, and Sawanit Kongsiri, 64 - showed the military-backed government wanted to maintain continuity in foreign policy.

Army chief and coup leader Sonthi Boonyaratglin said straight after seizing power that the military and the government would not change foreign policies or commitments that the Kingdom had made with other countries and international organisations.

So it's perhaps ironic that the coup makers, who overthrew an elected government for creating social division and other serious failings, has picked "old" civil servants who served the previous administration to be ministers overseeing the same foreign policy for sake of continuity.

Continuity means little change in policy and management. The continuity could also imply that Thaksin made no mistakes in foreign policy, either.

Nitya may well be the right person to ensure continuity, as he served the previous government as permanent secretary, when Surakiart Sathirathai was foreign minister. He was then picked, after retiring, as an adviser and chief negotiator for the free-trade agreement with the United States.

With Nitya, foreign policy under the interim government led by Surayud Chulanont will proceed in line with tradition. New policy initiatives are not expected during the short life of the military-backed government.

Nitya began his career in the foreign service in 1968 and climbed the ladder of power at the ministry during the Cold War. From 1969 to 1972, he served in the Thai Delegation to the anti-Communist Southeast Asia Treaty Organisation (Seato).

He took a senior level position in the ministry during Prem's regime in the 1980s as director of the information department before becoming ambassador to the United Nations, to Washington DC and ending up with the top job as permanent secretary of the ministry from 2000-2001.

Many activists who have struggled against the free-trade talks with the US and journalists cried foul when Nitya's name emerged for the portfolio since the aristocrat has seemed intolerant of criticism and annoying questions.

As chief negotiator for the free-trade agreement with the US, Nitya was subdued when accused by non-government organisations of having failed to protect national interests.

The new minister will hold a ceremony to make his entry to the ministry today and will announce his policies tomorrow.

At present it is unclear which policies initiated during Thaksin's administrative will be maintained. Thaksin and Surakiart made many initiatives such as the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), the Ayawady-Chao Phya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) and the "Bangkok Process" for democracy and national conciliation in Burma.

However, some were linked to scandal and corruption allegations, such as the ACMECS with regard to the controversial Bt600-million loan for Rangoon in which Thaksin appeared to have a conflict of interest. The junta-installed Asset Examination Committee is scrutinising the Exim loan deal.

Policies aside, an urgent task for the foreign minister will be to justify the military coup d'etat, which has been seen by some among the international community as a major setback for Thai democracy. A good explanation of reasons for the coup from Nitya would help restore creditability for the Kingdom in foreign countries. Otherwise, it could be worse than Thaksin's regime.

Supalak Ganjanakhundee

The Nation