His ancestors were the people who first introduced rubber trees and plantations to southern Thailand in the early 1900s.
The introduction of the commercial tree started off a new industry and brought prosperity to the entire southern region.
Rubber has become the country's second most important export item, worth billions of baht each year. It also keeps more than 500,000 households employed
According to the Office of the Rubber Replanting Aid Fund, the deputy premier's ancestor Phraya Rasadnupradit Mahisarabhakdi, or Kosimby Na-Ranong, had the idea of bringing rubber trees into Thailand after he went on a work study trip to Malaya. He saw how well the commercial trees grew and produced great yields for farmers.
Kosimby was governor of Trang at that time. He was later named Regent of Phuket and governed seven southern provinces including Krabi, Ranong and Satun.
Kosimby did not succeed in bringing back rubber saplings during that trip, however, as the plantation owner refused to give him any.
It was not until a few years later, in 1901, that one of his nieces was able to get hold of some rubber saplings from the Dutch East Indies.