Who is Pita Limjaroenrat, the young politician barred from Thailand's PM race?

Thailand's parliament has prohibited Pita Limjaroenrat from contesting the position of prime minister, preventing the leader of the party that emerged victorious in the May general election from assuming leadership in the next government.

A majority of 395 members in the 748-strong bicameral National Assembly, comprising the newly elected lower house and the military-appointed Senate, voted against allowing Pita to pursue the post of PM again, following a prior attempt that was blocked. The results were announced by House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha after an extended debate lasting nearly eight hours on Wednesday. The decision was made shortly after a court temporarily suspended Pita's role as a lawmaker, pending a final ruling on his disqualification over alleged violations of election rules.

Who is Pita Limjaroenrat?

Pita's early days in New Zealand

Pita, known as Tim among his friends, was born in 1980 to a well-off and politically influential family in Thailand. He developed an interest in politics during his high school days in New Zealand.

Described as a "rebellious" teenager who enjoyed rock and roll and played the guitar, Pita's family decided to send him to a remote area in New Zealand, where limited television options led him to watch Australian soap operas and parliamentary debates. During this time, he would diligently listen to speeches by New Zealand's then-Prime Minister, Jim Bolger, while doing his homework.

Pita returns to Thailand

Upon returning to Thailand, Pita pursued an undergraduate degree in finance and banking at Thammasat University in Bangkok. Later, he furthered his education and obtained a joint master's degree from MIT and Harvard, focusing on business and public policy.

In his mid-twenties, following his father's passing, Pita assumed control of the family business, CEO Agrifood. Despite his young age, his leadership played a pivotal role in transforming the company into one of Asia's largest producers of rice bran oil, as attested by his friend Jesus M Acuna.

Pita's political journey

Pita made his entry into politics in 2018, becoming a member of Move Forward's predecessor party, Future Forward, where he focused on handling agricultural policy. His debut in parliament came in 2019 when he was elected as a legislator. During his time in parliament, he became more aware of the "inertia within the system" that exists in the political landscape.

His national prominence began to rise after delivering a speech in parliament that shed light on the struggles faced by Thailand's farmers, who were burdened by heavy debts due to the high costs of agricultural production.

In the same year, when the Thai constitutional court disbanded Future Forward and imposed a ban on its leader's political involvement, Pita and the remaining legislators of the party joined forces to create the Move Forward Party.

Pita has been critical of the nine years that followed the military coup of 2014, which marked the army's second seizure of power since 2002. He referred to this period as a "lost decade" for Thailand and expressed in an interview with the Thai Public Broadcasting Service that the Move Forward Party's mission is to "restore common sense" to Thai politics.