Pita Limjaroenrat

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. He is the leader of the Move Forward Party, the de facto successor to the dissolved Future Forward Party.

In this Thai name, the person is referred to by his given name, Pita, and not by his surname, Limjaroenrat.

Pita Limjaroenrat
พิธา ลิ้มเจริญรัตน์
Pita in 2020
Member of the House of Representatives
for Move Forward Party List
Assumed office
24 March 2019
Leader of the Move Forward Party
Assumed office
14 March 2020
Preceded byPosition established
Personal details
Born (1980-09-05) 5 September 1980
Bangkok, Thailand
Political partyMove Forward (since 2020)
Other political
affiliations		Future Forward (2018–2020)
Spouse
Chutima Teepanart
​
​
(m. 2012; div. 2019)​
Children1
Education
NicknameTim (ทิม)[1]

Early life and education

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 delivering newspapers and milk to earn money. His interest in politics developed whilst watching the limited amount of television channels in Hamilton, which were either Australian soap operas or parliamentary debates. Due to his dislike of Australian soap operas, he began to listen to speeches given by then Prime-minister of New Zealand Jim Bogler.[6]

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.[7] He later on received an international student scholarship from Harvard University, becoming the first Thai student to do so.[8][9][10] 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 in 2011.[4]

Business career

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.[11][12] 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.[13][5]

Political career

Pita initially joined as a member of Future Forward Party (Thai: พรรคอนาคตใหม่, RTGS: Phak Anakhot Mai). Upon the invitation of party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, he accepted the offer to become a candidate in the 2019 Thai general election[14] and won a seat in the House of Representatives as the fourth party-list representative for his party.[lower-alpha 1]

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.[16][17]

Two weeks after the dissolution of his party, he was named as the new leader of the Move Forward Party (Thai: พรรคก้าวไกล, RTGS: Phak Kao Klai), where he was joined by 54 other members of parliament from the disbanded party,[18][19][20] and was formally elected on 14 March 2020.[21][22]

Pita led the Move Forward Party into the 2023 general election. On 15 May, he declared that he was ready to become prime minister after his party received the most votes, and invited the Pheu Thai Party and a number of smaller parties to form a coalition government.[23]

Personal life

Pita married the actress Chutima Teepanart on 12 December 2012.[24][25] The couple divorced in March 2019.[26] Chutima publicly alleged that Pita had been controlling and abusive during their marriage.[27] Women's rights and pro-democracy activists called for Pita to respond to the allegations.[28][27] Chutima filed a lawsuit against Pita alleging bodily abuse, but it was dismissed as false by the family court.[29][30] Afterwards, she said, "Violence may not have been an issue but he did harm me psychologically."[31] She has since downplayed the allegations and expressed support for his political ambitions.[29][30] They have one daughter, Pipim, who is being raised by Pita after he was given sole custody.[31][32]

In 2008, he was named as one of CLEO Thailand's "50 Most Eligible Bachelors".[4][33][34]

Notes
  1. He became the third party-list representative after the first party-list representative and party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit was disqualified by Thailand's constitutional court in November 2019.[15]

References
  1. "เลือกตั้ง2566 : รู้จัก (ว่าที่) นายกฯ "พิธา ลิ้มเจริญรัตน์"" (in Thai). Thai PBS. 15 May 2023. Archived from the original on 15 May 2023.
  2. "นายพิธา ลิ้มเจริญรัตน์". Hris.parliament.go.th (in Thai). Archived from the original on 19 May 2019.
  3. "เปิดประวัติ ทิม พิธา ลิ้มเจริญรัตน์ ส.ส.อนาคตใหม่ รู้จริงเรื่องเกษตรไทย (คลิป)" (in Thai). Thairath. 27 July 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  4. "Real tests await Pita as leader of Future Forward's reincarnation". Thai Public Broadcasting Service. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  5. "เปิดประวัติ "พิธา ลิ้มเจริญรัตน์" จากกระดุม 5 เม็ด… สู่ดาวฤกษ์ดวงใหม่" (in Thai). Workpoint News. 2 February 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  6. "The cigar-rolling, NZ schooled Harvard grad set to be Thailand's PM". Australian Financial Review. 18 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  7. "BBA International Program, Thammasat Business School" (PDF). bba.bus.tu.ac.th. 6 May 2009. p. 2. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  8. "เปิดประวัติ "ทิม พิธา" สามี "ต่าย ชุติมา" ดีกรี นักเรียนทุนฮาร์วาร์ดคนแรกของไทย" (in Thai). Channel 3. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  9. "Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award". enterpriseasia.org. Asia Pacific Entrepreneuship Awards. Retrieved 10 June 2020. Physical labor did not faze the high school valedictorian who graduated with first class honors in finance from Thammasat University in Thailand, where he also spent two years at the University of Texas at Austin.
  10. "Pita Limjaroenrat". generationt.asia. Generation T. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2020. He was also the first Thai student to receive Harvard's International Student Scholarship.
  11. Sriwipa Siripunyawit (28 July 2014). "Work hard but smart — Tim's key to success". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  12. "Top 10 Young Thai Male Entrepreneurs". top10asia.org. Top 10 of Asia. 15 March 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  13. Issaree Chulakasem (14 September 2017). "Grab Thailand announces Pita Limjaroenrat as its new Country Head Public Affairs". techsauce.co. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  14. "ทิม พิธา จากเด็กเกเร สู่การเป็นนักธุรกิจหนุ่มคนเก่ง – เรียนจบมหาลัยอันดับหนึ่งของโลก". campus-star.com (in Thai). Campus Star. 6 April 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  15. "Thanathorn: Thai opposition leader disqualified as MP". BBC News. 20 November 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  16. Tappanai Boonbandit (30 July 2019). "Parina Slams Future Forward MP'S Separation With Series of Commandments". Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  17. ""อนุพงษ์" ชื่นชม "พิธา" อภิปรายตรงประเด็น แจงมีทั้งทำแล้ว ทำได้ และไม่ได้" (in Thai). Thai Rath. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  18. Pravit Rojanaphruk (7 March 2020). "FUTURE FORWARD SUCCESSOR SAYS HE WILL CONTINUE THE FIGHT". Khaosod. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  19. Thana Boonlert (9 March 2020). "Pita takes helm of new party in wake of FFP demise". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  20. Hathai Techakitteranun (8 March 2020). "New Thai party to replace dissolved Future Forward". The Straits Times. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  21. "Pita takes the reins of the Move Forward Party, the 'second chapter of Future Forward'". The Nation. 14 March 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  22. Patpon Sabpaitoon (14 March 2020). "Pita tries to keep FFP ideology alive". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  23. "ประวัติ "พิธา ลิ้มเจริญรัตน์" ว่าที่นายกฯ คนที่ 30 ของประเทศไทย". อมรินทร์ทีวี เอชดี ช่อง 34 - AMARIN TV HD (in Thai). 15 May 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  24. Mae Moo (7 April 2019). "James' lucky break, Tim stakes claim, stork brings twins". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 10 June 2020. The couple married on the auspicious date of 12/12/2012 but have been having problems for the past year or so, and separated five or six months ago.
  25. "Winter 2016". hks.harvard.edu. Harvard Kennedy School. Retrieved 10 June 2020. Pita Limjaroenrat MPP and wife, Chutima, are expecting their first child this coming March.
  26. "Domestic Violence Allegations Stalk Thanathorn's Successor". NewsDay24. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020. Pita and Chutima filed for divorce in March 2019.
  27. "Domestic Violence Allegations Stalk Thanathorn's Successor". Khaosod English. 12 March 2020. In an interview in October 2019 to Khaosod's Thai edition, Chutima said Pita forbid her from having male and gay friends, and once instructed her to prostate (graab) to him in apology for mentioning that Hollywood star Rober Downey Jr. was handsome.
  28. "PARINA SLAMS FUTURE FORWARD MP'S SEPARATION WITH SERIES OF COMMANDMENTS". Khaosod English. 30 July 2019. A few days after Parliament heated up during debate over the new government's core policies, Phalang Pracharath MP Parina Kraikup took to Facebook to pen yet another social media outburst, this time aimed at Future Forward MP Pita Limjaroenrat's alleged abuse of his ex-wife.
  29. "Move Forward Party leader Pita's ex-wife plays down domestic abuse". The Nation. 21 April 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  30. "Tai Chutima Insists On Cheering Her Ex-Husband, Pita". Khaosod English. 22 April 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  31. Mae Moo (26 May 2019). "Music master finds new pet, Tye flings mud, Toy's tantrum". Retrieved 10 June 2020. It comes after the court earlier varied a custody order awarding to Tim sole custody rights to the couple's child, Nong PiPim, aged three.
  32. "จ่ำม่ำมาก ! ยลโฉม 'น้องพิพิม' ลูกสาวคนแรกของ พิธา – ชุติมา ลิ้มเจริญรัตน์". hellomagazine.com (in Thai). Hello Magazine. January 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  33. "เปิดประวัติไม่ธรรมดา 'ทิม พิธา' ดาวสภาดวงใหม่ รู้จริงเรื่องเกษตรกรไทย เคยติดโผ 50 หนุ่ม CLEO 2008" (in Thai). Matichon. 28 July 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  34. "50 หนุ่มโสดในฝันของนิตยสารคลีโอประจำปี 2008". mthai.com (in Thai). MThai. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
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