Padipat Suntiphada

First Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of Thailand since 2023 (born 1981)

Padipat Suntiphada
ปดิพัทธ์ สันติภาดา
Padipat at Sappaya-Sapasathan in 2023
First Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of Thailand
Incumbent
Assumed office
5 July 2023
MonarchVajiralongkorn
Prime MinisterPrayut Chan-o-cha
Srettha Thavisin
SpeakerWan Muhamad Noor Matha
Preceded bySuchart Tancharoen
Member of the House of Representatives
for Phitsanulok 1st
Incumbent
Assumed office
24 March 2019
Preceded byWarong Dechgitvigrom
Majority21,746 (22.02%)
Personal details
Born (1981-10-15) 15 October 1981 (age 42)
Phitsanulok, Thailand
Political partyFair Party
Other political
affiliations
Padipat Suntiphada's voice
Padipat reading Ecclesiastes 3:4-6 in Thai
Recorded 2 August 2023

Padipat Suntiphada (Thai: ปดิพัทธ์ สันติภาดา, pronounced [pà.dì.pʰát̚ sǎn.tì.pʰāː.dāː] ⓘ; born 15 October 1981) is a Thai veterinarian and politician and currently the First Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of Thailand since July 2023.

Education

Padipat received a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine from Chulalongkorn University and a Master of Theological Studies from Trinity Theological College, Singapore.[1] He did not want to be a veterinarian or open a clinic after graduation. As a result, he did not register with the Veterinary Council per the requirement for being a veterinarian in Thailand.[2] He worked as a technical sales representative of a veterinarian product group instead.[3]

Political career

Padipat was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2019 under the Future Forward Party. He moved to the Move Forward Party after Future Forward was disbanded and was elected as a member of its executive board.[4][5] He was the second deputy chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Political Development, Mass Communications, and Public Participation.[6][7]

He kept his seat in the 2023 election and was later elected First Deputy Speaker at the beginning of the first House session.[8][9] He resigned from his party executive position to comply with the requirements that Speaker and Deputies must be impartial.[10]

Padipat worked at the Thai Christian Students Association from 2005 to 2018. His belief as a devout Christian made him abstain from voting on a Marriage Equality Bill that was proposed by his party in 2022.[1] After being elected Deputy Speaker, he said that he will vote for the bill and will not impede its parliamentary process.[10]

Revocation of Move Forward Party Membership

On 28 September 2023, during a meeting between a Padipat and the party executive committee, Padipat expressed his intention to continue in his role as the deputy speaker. This conflicted with the party's intention to serve as leader of the opposition. Therefore, the Move Forward party's executive committee took the decision to revoke Padipat's membership.

Under Section 106 of the Thai constitution, the opposition leader is appointed from the largest opposition party where its party leader is a serving MP. The constitution defines an opposition party as a party that does not sit in cabinet. However, the 2019 Thai constitution is the first one to add the speakership and deputy speakership as disqualifying conditions for a party to be able to hold the opposition leadership separate from the nominal definition of an opposition party. Padipat will have thirty days to join a new party lest he forfeits his position as deputy speaker and MP. The Thai Sang Thai Party and the Fair Party have expressed interests in welcoming Padipat.[11][12]

After the decision to revoke Padipat's membership was announced through Move Forward's official channels, various government MPs came out to criticise the decision as being political theatre and an attempt to cling on to power.[13] The government chief whip, Adisorn Piangkes, posted a poem critical of Padipat on his personal Twitter account.[14] He also announced that Pheu Thai will file a complaint to the election commission on the question of whether Move Forward's party executive committee violated the party regulation on the conditions in which membership can be rescinded.

On 10 October Padipat announced his intention to join the Fair Party, accompanied by the party's leader and secretary-general. He said that he will have to wait for official confirmation of the nullification of his Move Forward party membership from the Election Commission before he can formally begin the process of joining the Fair Party.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b "Padipat Suntiphada: Move Forward's ex-vet ready to 'heal' House as next speaker". Thai PBS World. Thai Public Broadcasting Service. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  2. ^ "อดีตที่ถูกขุดของ "หมออ๋อง" ปดิพัทธ์ สันติภาดา อะไรจริง-ไม่จริง? | Cofact" (in Thai). 4 July 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  3. ^ "ปดิพัทธ์ สันติภาดา". Move Forward Party. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  4. ^ "ไม่ผิดคาด "ทิม พิธา" นั่งหัวหน้าพรรคก้าวไกล พร้อมเปิดตัวโลโก้ใหม่". Thairath (in Thai). 14 March 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  5. ^ "ประกาศนายทะเบียนพรรคการเมือง เรื่อง การเปลี่ยนแปลงข้อบังคับพรรค และคณะกรรมการบริหารพรรคก้าวไกล" (PDF) (in Thai). Royal Gazette. 20 August 2020. p. 104. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  6. ^ "รายนาม คณะกรรมาธิการการพัฒนาการเมือง การสื่อสารมวลชน และการมีส่วนร่วมของประชาชน" [Committee on Political Development, Mass Communications, and Public Participation] (in Thai). House of Representatives. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  7. ^ "เกร็ดน่ารู้เกี่ยวกับคำศัพท์ภาษาอังกฤษในวงงานรัฐสภา (ตอนที่ ๒) "ประโยคและคำศัพท์ภาษาอังกฤษที่ใช้ในการประชุมรัฐสภาและคณะกรรมาธิการ"" (in Thai and English). Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  8. ^ "Royal Command Appointed House Speaker and Deputies". Bangkok Post. 7 July 2023.
  9. ^ "Royal Command from King appoints House speaker and his two deputies". The Nation. 7 July 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  10. ^ a b "'ปดิพัทธ์' ลาออก กก.บห.ก้าวไกล นั่งรอง ปธ.สภาฯ ดันเต็มที่สมรสเท่าเทียม". Bangkok Biz News (in Thai). 4 July 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  11. ^ "Move Forward 'expels' its deputy speaker". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  12. ^ "In a tactical move, Move Forward party sacks Padipat". www.thaipbsworld.com. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  13. ^ สุวรรณทิชากร, พรทิพย์. "'แทนคุณ'ซัด'ก้าวไกล-หมออ๋อง'เล่นละครฮั้วการเมือง". เดลินิวส์ (in Thai). Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  14. ^ Adisorn, Piengkes. "กาเหว่า ฝากไข่ ให้กาฟัก". x. @slide2495p. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  15. ^ "'ปดิพัทธ์' แถลงเปิดตัวเข้าสังกัด 'พรรคเป็นธรรม' 'ปิติพงศ์' เตรียมนั่งเป็นที่ปรึกษาฯ รองปธ.สภา". Matichon Online. Matichon. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
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