Bhumjaithai Party (BJT; th, พรรคภูมิใจไทย, , ; 'Thai Pride Party') was founded on 5 November 2008, in anticipation of the 2 December 2008

Constitutional Court of Thailand The Constitutional Court of the Kingdom of Thailand ( th, ศาลรัฐธรรมนูญ, , ) is an independent Thai court created by the 1997 Constitution with jurisdiction over the constitutionality of parliamentary acts, royal d ...

ruling that dissolved its "de facto predecessor", the Neutral Democratic Party, along with the People's Power Party (PPP), and the

Thai Nation Party Thai Nation Party, or Chart Thai Party ( th, พรรคชาติไทย, ) was a conservative political party in Thailand. It was dissolved by the Constitutional Court of Thailand on December 2, 2008, along with the People's Power Party and ...

. After the dissolutions, former members of the Neutral Democratic Party and former members of the PPP faction, the

Friends of Newin Group The Friends of Newin Group ( th, กลุ่มเพื่อนเนวิน) was a faction of MPs in the People's Power Party led by Newin Chidchob, former Thai Rak Thai cabinet minister, in the House of Representatives of Thailand. After th ...

defected to this party.

History

On 15 December 2008, the party endorsed the Democrat Party, forming a six-party coalition government under Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. The party's "de facto" leader and power broker behind joining the Democrat-led coalition is Newin Chidchob. Due to his role as an executive of the PPP predecessor party, the

Thai Rak Thai The Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT; th, พรรคไทยรักไทย, , ; "Thais Love Thais Party") was a Thai political party founded in 1998. From 2001 to 2006, it was the ruling party under its founder, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawat ...

party which was dissolved in 2007, he became ineligible to be a party member for five years. It is alleged that army commander and co-leader of the 2006 coup, General

Anupong Paochinda Anupong Paochinda ( th, อนุพงษ์ เผ่าจินดา; ; born 10 October 1949) is a Thai politician and retired army officer. He held the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army from 2007 until his retirement on ...

, coerced the MPs of the

faction in the PPP to endorse a Democrat Party-led coalition. This secured enough parliamentary votes to allow Abhisit to be elected prime minister. Bhumjaithai was the second largest coalition partner in the Abhisit government, supplying the ministers of

Transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...

Commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...

, and Interior ( Chaovarat Chanweerakul), and four deputy ministers. For the general election on 3 July 2011, Bhumjaithai forged an alliance with coalition partner Chartthaipattana Party. The party aimed at winning as many as 111 seats in the new parliament. During the campaign, a main BJT canvasser, Suban Chiraphanwanit, was shot dead. Eventually, BJT won 34 of the 500 seats in the House of Representatives, which observers have interpreted as disappointing. Subsequently, the party's Matchima-faction, led by

Somsak Thepsuthin Somsak Thepsuthin ( th, สมศักดิ์ เทพสุทิน; born 13 January 1955) is a Thai politician. he serves as Minister of Justice in the second cabinet of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Life and education Somsak was ...

, tried to join the Pheu-Thai-led coalition government of Prime Minister-designate

Yingluck Shinawatra Yingluck Shinawatra ( th, ยิ่งลักษณ์ ชินวัตร, , ; ; born 21 June 1967), nicknamed Pou ( th, ปู, , , meaning "crab"), is a Thai businesswoman, politician and a member of the Pheu Thai Party who became the P ...

, despite the party's ruling out cooperation with Pheu Thai before the elections. The Pheu Thai Party rejected the participation of BJT members. On 14 September 2012, Anuthin Charnvirakul was elected the new leader of the Bhumjaithai Party during the party's general assembly to elect a new 11-member executive committee. He replaced his father Chaovarat Chanweerakul, who had resigned. Also elected were Saksayam Chidchob as the new secretary-general, Nathee Ratchakijprakarn as treasurer, Sora-ath Klinprathum as an executive committee member and party advisory chairman, and Supamas Issarapakdi as party spokeswoman. Bhumjaithai has a

populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...

platform, since some of the platform was drawn from Thaksin's

party, and the People's Power Party. The party has a strong base in Buriram Province.

References

{{Thai political parties Political parties established in 2008 Political parties in Thailand Centrist parties in Thailand 2008 establishments in Thailand

History

See also

References