Krasae Chanawongse was born in Phon District, Khon Kaen Province, in rural Northeastern Thailand, as one of eight siblings in a poor family.

After leaving school at age 13 and an unpaid apprenticeship in a lumber shop, he resumed his secondary education while earning money as a delivery boy.

The awarding foundation honoured his commitment for health care development in one of the least-developed rural regions of the country, citing his "12-year crusade for sanitation, preventive medicine and curative treatment".

He was named Deputy Minister of Public Health in 1979, serving in the short-lived cabinet of Kriangsak Chomanan.

[3] Having become a member of the Palang Dharma Party in the meantime, he served as Deputy Governor of Bangkok, responsible for health services and public welfare, in 1993.