Thai protest leader Suthep a son of the elite with an axe to grind
Suthep Thaugsuban, the leader of the Thai protests, is a political veteran with a chequered past and a hatred of what he calls the 'Thaksin regime'
But not Suthep Thaugsuban, the former deputy prime minister turned street protester, who has emerged as the key figure in the political turmoil currently engulfing Thailand.
So far, Suthep has ignored the warrant issued for his arrest last Tuesday for his part in instigating the massive civil unrest in Bangkok and demanding that Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her ruling Puea Thai party step down.
Instead, the 64-year-old head of the Civil Movement for Democracy (CMD) continues to appear daily at press conferences where he insists he will not stop until the "Thaksin regime" is eradicated from Thailand.
Like all the protesters, and many Thais, Suthep believes that former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was overthrown in a 2006 military coup and fled into exile in 2008, continues to run Thailand via his sister Yingluck from his homes in London and Dubai.
Thaksin is hated by the traditional elite - the big businessmen, royal advisers and army generals - and their metropolitan, middle-class supporters for his perceived disloyalty to the revered monarchy, as well as for the corruption they say has flourished under Puea Thai's rule.