Mallica Vajrathon is a sociologist, political scientist and former United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 Senior Staff member. Her grandfather was Joseph Caulfield James

Joseph Caulfield James

Joseph Caulfield James was an English teacher from Birkenhead, England. He was the principal tutor to Prince Vajiravudh of Siam, who later became king of Siam.-Royal Tutor:...

, a special tutor to His Royal Highness, Prince Vajiravudh of Thailand

Vajiravudh

Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramentharamaha Vajiravudh Phra Mongkut Klao Chao Yu Hua , or Phra Bat Somdet Phra Ramathibodi Si Sintharamaha Vajiravudh Phra Mongkut Klao Chao Yu Hua , or Rama VI was the sixth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, ruling from 1910 until his death...

 (who later became King), as well being second Chairman of the Royal Bangkok Sports Club. Her father was T. Vajrathon of The Bangkok Electric Authority of Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

 and her mother is Malee James Vajrathon. Vajrathon is the wife of Irish writer Erskine B. Childers

Erskine Childers (UN)

Erskine Barton Childers was a writer, BBC correspondent and United Nations senior civil servant. He was the eldest son of Erskine Hamilton Childers and Ruth Ellen Dow Childers...

.

Early life

Born in Bangkok

Bangkok

Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...

, she is the eldest daughter of a large multi-cultural family. She went to grade school at Mater Dei Institute

Mater Dei Institute

Mater Dei is a school which as of now is currently run by the Sisters of the Ursuline Order, owing a total area of and 3 buildings. It is a catholic girl school, which is held from K3 to G12. The average room student capacity is about 36 students. In addition, a grade level is divided into 4 rooms...

 run by the Ursulines

Ursulines

The Ursulines are a Roman Catholic religious order for women founded at Brescia, Italy, by Saint Angela de Merici in November 1535, primarily for the education of girls and the care of the sick and needy. Their patron saint is Saint Ursula.-History:St Angela de Merici spent 17 years leading a...

. She continued her studies at Chulalongkorn University

Chulalongkorn University

Chulalongkorn University is the oldest university in Thailand and is the country's highest ranked university. It now has nineteen faculties and institutes. Regarded as the best and most selective university in Thailand, it consistently attracts top students from around the country...

 of Bangkok

Bangkok

Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...

, Southern Illinois University

Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a public research university located in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1869, SIUC is the flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system...

, the Sorbonne

Sorbonne

The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...

 and Cornell

Cornell University

Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

. As an alumna, Vajrathon has received numerous awards and honors. Among them, the Saint Angela Award

Angela Merici

Angela Merici, or Angela de Merici, was an Italian religious leader and saint. She founded the Order of Ursulines in 1535 in Brescia.-Life:...

 for Outstanding Service to the Community, 2002, from Mater Dei Institute and the Outstanding Graduate Award in International Affairs, 1989 from Chulalongkorn University.

United Nations Civil Service

She is one of the highest ranking United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 civil servants from Thailand. With more than 32 years of service, she began her UN career as an intern at the organization's headquarters in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. In 1960, upon returning to Thailand, Vajrathon was recruited by UNICEF. In 1968, she worked with Erskine B. Childers in a "pioneering" project in Development Support Communication. During her work for UNICEF in Thailand and Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

, she was asked to take numerous photographs which were published in two books by Judith Spiegelman,. In 1975, she returned to New York to work in UNFPA as a communications officer with Rafael M. Salas

Rafael M. Salas

Rafael M. Salas , was the first head of the United Nations Population Fund from its inception in 1969 up to his death in 1987 . Salas is an alumnus of the University of the Philippines...

. In the early 1980s, Vajrathon was asked to contribute to the Thailand section of the now famous book, the International Women's Movement Anthology: Sisterhood is Global by Robin Morgan

Robin Morgan

Robin Morgan is a former child actor turned American radical feminist activist, writer, poet, and editor of Sisterhood is Powerful and Ms. Magazine....

. Known to be an outspoken advocate of women's rights

Women's rights

Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...

, she was the editor of Equal Time, a publication of the group on equal rights for women in the United Nations.

Vajrathon was selected by the Secretary General of the Fourth World Conference on Women

Fourth World Conference on Women

The United Nations convened the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace on 4-15 September 1995 in Beijing, China. 189 governments and more than 5,000 representatives from 2,100 non-governmental organizations participated in the Conference...

to be Principal Advisor for the preparation of the conference from 1993-1995.