A Thai-British physician and former statesman, Dr. Teerakiat is a child and adolescent psychiatrist who served as Thailand's Minister of Education (2016–2019), following earlier roles as Deputy Minister and Vice Minister of Education, and as a Senator (2010–2019). He earned his MD from Chulalongkorn University and holds membership in the Royal College of Psychiatrists (UK), specialist qualifications in child and adolescent psychiatry in both Thailand and the UK, a CBT certification from the Beck Institute, and an MA in Sanskrit from Silpakorn University. Before his ministerial career, he practiced for over a decade as a consultant child psychiatrist in the UK and held senior academic and clinical posts at Khon Kaen University and the Royal Free Hospital in London. He currently serves as President and Dean of Newton Business School and Executive Chairman of the Newton Education Group, leads several foundations and cultural associations, and sits on the Board of Trustees of CMKL University. His honors include the Knight Grand Cordon of the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand, the 2019 Gusi Peace Prize, and an honorary doctorate from KMITL, and he has authored more than thirty papers, articles, and books on child psychiatry, education reform, parenting, and social justice.