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Pita Limjaroenrat |
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ita_Limjaroenrat_-_2_(cropped).jpg" class="image" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(51, 102, 204); background: none;"> Pita Limjaroenrat in 2020 |
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Assumed office
24 March 2019 |
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Assumed office
14 March 2020 |
| Preceded by | Position established |
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| Born | 5 September 1980 (age 42)
Bangkok, Thailand |
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| Political party | Move Forward (2020–present) |
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Other political
affiliations | Future Forward (2018–2020) |
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| Spouse | Chutima Teepanart ( m. 2012; div. 2019) |
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| Children | 1 |
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| Parents | - Pongsak Limjaroenrat (father)
- Linda Limjaroenrat (mother)
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| Education | |
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| Nickname | Tim (ทิม)[1] |
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Pita Limjaroenrat (Thai: พิธา ลิ้มเจริญรัตน์, RTGS: Phitha Limcharoenrat, pronounced [pʰí(ʔ).tʰāː lím.tɕā.rɤ̄ːn.rát]; nicknamed Tim; born 5 September 1980) is a Thai politician and businessman, who is serving as the incumbent leader of the Move Forward Party (Thai: พรรคก้าวไกล, RTGS: Phak Kao Klai), the de facto successor to the dissolved Future Forward Party (Thai: พรรคอนาคตใหม่, RTGS: Phak Anakhot Mai).
Early life and education[edit]
Pita was born on 5 September 1980,[1][2] the eldest son of Pongsak Limjaroenrat, a former adviser to the Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, and Linda Limjaroenrat. He is the nephew of Padung Limjaroenrat, a former secretary to the Interior Minister and a close aide of then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.[3][4]
Pita attended the Bangkok Christian College before being sent to Hamilton, New Zealand by his father at the age of 11.[5] There he lived with a middle-class host family, doing part-time jobs such as handing out newspapers and milk to earn money. His interest in politics developed while watching parliamentary debates on the limited number of local television channels at the time.[1]
After graduating from secondary school in New Zealand, he went back to Thailand and pursued a bachelor's degree in finance from the Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy in Thammasat University where he graduated in 2002 with first-class honors and got a scholarship to study at the University of Texas at Austin.[6] He later on received an international student scholarship from Harvard University, becoming the first Thai student to do so.[7][8][9] He completed a joint Master of Public Policy degree in the John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University and a Master of Business Administration degree in the Sloan School of Management of Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[4]
Business career[edit]
At the age of 25, Pita returned to Thailand to take over as managing director of CEO Agrifood, a rice bran oil business run by his family, after the death of his father.[10][11] The company was able to regain its foothold two years after and allowed Pita to return to the United States where he finished his master's degree in 2011.[5]
He also served as the executive director of Grab Thailand from 2017 to 2018.[12][5]
Political career[edit]
Pita initially joined as a member of Future Forward Party. Upon the invitation of party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, he accepted the offer to become a candidate in the 2019 Thai general election[13] and won a seat in the House of Representatives as the fourth party-list representative for his party.[a]
In July 2019, he delivered a speech in the House of Representatives where he discussed about the "Five-Button Theory" which called on the government to focus on the following agricultural policies: land ownership, farmers' debts, cannabis, agro-tourism, and water resources. Despite belonging to another party, his speech was praised by Interior Minister Anupong Paochinda.[15][16] -+
Two weeks after the dissolution of his party, he was named as the new leader of Move Forward Party where he was joined by 54 other MPs of the disbanded party[17][18][19] and was formally elected on 14 March 2020.[20][21]
He would go on to lead the Move Forward Party into the 2023 Thai General Election. On the 15th of May at 11:51 Thai time, he would declare that he was ready to become Prime-minister, after his party received the most votes, and invited the Pheu Thai Party[22] to form a coalition government together.
Personal life[edit]
Pita married actress Chutima Teepanart [th] on 12 December 2012.[23][24] The couple divorced in March 2019.[25] Chutima publicly alleged that Pita had been controlling and abusive during their marriage.[26] Women's rights and pro-democracy activists called for Pita to respond to the allegations.[27][26] Chutima filed a lawsuit against Pita alleging bodily abuse but it was dismissed as false by the family court. His ex-wife has since downplayed the allegations and expressed support for his political ambitions.[28][29] They have one daughter named Pipim, who is being raised by Pita after he was given sole custody.[30][31]
In 2008, he was named as one of CLEO Thailand's 50 Most Eligible Bachelors.[4][32][33]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pita_Limjaroenrat
