Former central bank governor Mom Rajawongse Chatumongol Sonakul was tipped as interim prime minister because he is knowledgeable about economic issues. Some CDRM leaders had reservations about Chatumongol, who gained a reputation for being outspoken and intolerant during his long years as a technocrat at the Finance Ministry and Bank of Thailand (BoT). Chatumongol previously served as the permanent secretary for finance from 1 October 1995 to 28 July 1997 and was dismissed by the Chavalit Yongchaiyudh government. Named on 7 May 1998, governor of the Bank of Thailand by Tarrin Nimmanhaeminda, Chuan Leekpai government's finance minister, Chatumongol was later sacked on 30 May 2001 by the Thaksin Shinawatra government.