Chitpas Kridakorn

Chitpas Kridakorn (Thai: จิตภัสร์ กฤดากร, RTGS: Chitphat Kridakon; née Bhirombhakdi ภิรมย์ภักดี RTGS: Phiromphakdi, born 16 June 1985[1]) is a Thai politician and activist. She was a speaker of the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) during the 2013–2014 mass protests. Since May 2019 she has been a member of the Thai House of Representatives for the Democrat Party.

Chitpas Kridakorn
Member of the House of Representatives
Assumed office
29 May 2019
Personal details
Born (1985-06-16) 16 June 1985
Bangkok, Thailand
NationalityThai
Political partyDemocrat Party
MotherPiyapas Bhirombhakdi
FatherChutinant Bhirombhakdi
Occupationpolitician
Net worth664.7 million baht (2019)

Family and education

Chitpas, also known under her nickname "Tant" (ตั๊น), was born in Bangkok as the eldest daughter of an aristocratic family. Her father Chutinant Bhirombhakdi is one of the heirs to the Boon Rawd Brewery fortune and executive vice-president of the Singha Corporation, producing the beer brands Singha and Leo. Her grandfather Chamnong Bhirombhakdi was the president of Singha Corporation and was listed as number seven of the richest Thais by Forbes in 2011 with an estimated net worth of US$2 billion.[2] Therefore, she is often referred to as the "Singha heiress" or "beer heiress" in Thai press. Chitpas' mother, Mom Luang Piyapas Bhirombhakdi née Kridakorn, is a distant member of the Thai royal family (great-great-granddaughter of King Mongkut) and actress, primarily known for her portrayal of Queen Suriyothai in the 2001 history film The Legend of Suriyothai. In 2017, the Asian edition of Tatler magazine chose Chitpas as number two of "Thailand's Most Eligible Ladies".[3]

Chitpas as a staff member at Government House in 2009

Chitpas went to Chitralada School (the school attended by children of the Thai royal family) and Westonbirt School in England. She took a bachelor's degree in geography from King's College London in 2009, and a master's degree in public administration from Chulalongkorn University in 2014, as the valedictorian of her class.[4]

Political career

As a 23-year-old, she joined the Democrat Party and became a staff member of Niphon Promphan, who was secretary-general to prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. In December 2009, Chitpas caused controversy when she distributed advertising calendars of her family's Leo beer brand, depicting scantily clad models, at Government House. She resigned her position,[5][6] but was hired for another government position as secretary to the minister of information and communication technology (ICT). In the 2011 parliamentary election, she ran as a constituency candidate for the Dusit and Ratchathewi districts of Bangkok, but lost.[7][8] She then served as the deputy spokeswoman of the Democrat Party, that was the main opposition after the 2011 election. In this position, she called for a clampdown on websites insulting the monarchy, under the Thai lèse majesté law and Computer Crimes Act.[9]

Chitpas joined the 2013 anti-government protests and became one of the prominent speakers and faces of the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), headed by former Democrat politician Suthep Thaugsuban.[10] In an AFP report in mid-December 2013, Chitpas was quoted saying that many Thais lack a "true understanding of democracy ... especially in the rural areas." This provoked anger among government-supporting Red Shirts and inhabitants of the rural northeastern provinces, some of them starting to boycott Singha beer.[11] Her home was attacked with Molotov cocktails. A week later, the Bhirombhakdi family prompted her to change her family name, in order to keep the Bhirombhakdi name and Boon Rawd Brewery out of the conflict.[12] She chose to use her mother's maiden name, Kridakorn.[13] The protests resulted in the May 2014 military coup, which Chitpas and other PDRC leaders celebrated with a party, wearing military-style outfits.[14] After the coup, the PDRC transformed into the People's Democratic Reform Foundation (PDRF) with Chitpas serving as an assistant secretary.[4]

In 2015, Chitpas applied for a position at the 191 Police patrol and special operations division of the Royal Thai Police. This met with strong opposition from some police officers, recalling her role in the storming of the Bangkok police headquarters during the 2013–2014 protests and charges of sedition against her. She withdrew her application.[4] In 2018 she applied for legal aid from a justice ministry fund for low-income earners to provide bail during her criminal procedure for sedition.[15] Her request was denied as she did not submit the necessary documents to prove she qualified for the aid.[16][17]

Chitpas was chosen as the Democrat Party's deputy secretary in November 2018. In the 2019 parliamentary election, she ran as the Democrats' party-list candidate number 20. As the party won exactly 20 list seats, she was only just elected to the House of Representatives after an election rerun in Chiang Mai's 8th constituency.[18]

In her mandatory asset disclosure filing in the new 2019 parliament, Chitpas listed 664.7 million baht in assets.[19]

References
  1. "'Dear Wathanya' VS 'Tan Chitphat' So So Som Lon Khwa Kao-i Party List" “เดียร์ วทันยา” VS “ตั๊น จิตภัสร์” ส.ส.ส้มหล่นคว้าเก้าอี้ปาร์ตี้ลิสต์ [Dear Watanya vs Tant Chitpas: MPs who won a party-list seat by windfall]. Siam Rath. 1 June 2019.
  2. "Thailand's 40 Richest: #7 Chamnong Bhirombhakdi". Forbes. 30 August 2011. Archived from the original on 16 November 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  3. "Asia's Most Wanted: Thailand's Most Eligible Ladies". Hong Kong Tatler. 7 August 2017. Archived from the original on 14 November 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  4. Wasamon Audjarint (25 September 2015). "Beer queen brews up a storm". The Nation. Archived from the original on 17 June 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  5. "Leo bites Chitpas". Bangkok Post. 19 December 2009.
  6. Philip Golingai (19 December 2009). "Stir over girly calendar". The Star.
  7. Saksith Saiyasombut (13 May 2011). "The heiress, the athletes and the pimp ... Thailand's celebrity candidates". Asian Correspondent. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  8. Jon Fernquest (5 July 2011). "Celebrity election failure". Bangkok Post.
  9. Saksith Saiyasombut (20 August 2011). "Thailand's 'beer-heiress' supports crackdown on anti-monarchy websites". Asian Correspondent. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  10. Andrew R.C. Marshall (13 December 2013). "High society hits the streets as prominent Thais join protests". Reuters.
  11. Thomas Fuller (10 January 2014). "Thai Beer Loses Esteem After Heiress's Remarks". The New York Times.
  12. "Singha beer family disowns Chitpas". Bangkok Post. 23 December 2013.
  13. Terry Fredrickson (24 December 2013). "Chitpas Kridakorn". Bangkok Post.
  14. "PDRC leaders draw flak for lavish party", Bangkok Post, 30 May 2014
  15. King-Oua Laohong (7 June 2018). "Beer heiress seeking help from Justice fund for the poor". Bangkok Post.
  16. "Chitpas refused financial aid". Bangkok Post. 5 July 2018.
  17. "Beer heiress loses bid for financial aid to fight treason charge". The Nation. 4 July 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  18. Mongkol Bangprapa (28 May 2019). "FFP wins Chiang Mai re-run, but rivals may gain too". Bangkok Post.
  19. "Tourism minister's wife richest MP to date". Bangkok Post. 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
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