Nattawut Saikua ( th, ณัฐวุฒิ ใสยเกื้อ; ; born June 4, 1975) is a Thai politician. He is the secretary-general and spokesman of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship ("Red Shirts"), and a Member of Parliament for the

Pheu Thai Party The Pheu Thai Party (PTP; th, พรรคเพื่อไทย, lit=For Thais Party, , ) is the third incarnation of a Thai political party founded by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The Pheu Thai Party was founded on 20 Septemb ...

list. In 2008, he was spokesman for the Somchai Wongsawat government. From January 2012 to May 2014, he served as Deputy Minister in Yingluck Shinawatra's

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

Education and family

Nattawut was born in Sichon District, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. He has one older brother, Jettanan. Nattawut studied

communication studies Communication studies or communication science is an academic discipline that deals with processes of human communication and behavior, patterns of communication in interpersonal relationships, social interactions and communication in differen ...

at the

Dhurakij Pundit University Dhurakij Pundit University ( th, มหาวิทยาลัยธุรกิจบัณฑิตย์; , ; ''thurakit'' translates to "business", ''bandit'' to "scholar") is a university in Bangkok, Thailand. Founded as Dhurakij Pundit Col ...

, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1998. Later, he attended the Master of Public and Private Management programme of the

National Institute of Development Administration The National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) th, สถาบันบัณฑิตพัฒนบริหารศาสตร์) is a public graduate university in Thailand under the Commission on Higher Education, the Mini ...

, graduating in 2005. He is married to Sirisakul Saikua, and they have one son and one daughter.

Orator and TV personality

Nattawut has a reputation as a stirring orator. Already as a high school student, he successfully participated in debating contests, including an appearance on Thai TV Channel 3. Later, he worked as a speech trainer. Nattawut gained fame on the Thai television program ''Sapa Joke'' ("Joke Parliament") on

iTV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

, a show that travestied

Thai parliament The National Assembly of Thailand ( Abrv: NAT; th, รัฐสภา, , ) is the bicameral legislative branch of the government of Thailand. It convenes in the Sappaya-Sapasathan, Dusit District, Bangkok. The National Assembly was establis ...

and politics. He "dubbed" Trairong Suwankiri, who was the deputy leader of the Democrat Party.

Political career and activism

Nattawut joined the National Development Party in 2001 and moved to the

Thai Rak Thai Party 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 ...

(TRT) of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2005. Inside TRT, he formed a faction together with his "buddies" and political allies

Jatuporn Prompan Jatuporn Prompan ( th, จตุพร พรหมพันธุ์; ; ; born October 5, 1965) is a Thai politician and activist. He is one of the core leaders of the National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), also known as ...

and

Veera Musikapong Veerakarn Musikapong ( th, วีระกานต์ มุสิกพงศ์, ), born Veera Musikapong ( th, วีระ มุสิกพงศ์) on 24 May 1948 in Ranot, Songkhla Province, is a Thai politician. Veera was government sp ...

. After the overthrow of Thaksin and the forced dissolution of TRT, he represented the People's Power Party in the 2007 Thai elections. He became Deputy Spokesman for the Samak Sundaravej government on February 6, 2008. On October 7, 2008, he became the spokesman for the Somchai Wongsawat government. Nattawut, alongside Jatuporn and Veera, is one of the leaders of the United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), colloquially called the "Red Shirts". The UDD is a political pressure group that campaigned and fiercely protested against the

2006 Thai coup d'état The 2006 Thai ''coup d'état'' took place on 19 September 2006, when the Royal Thai Army staged a ''coup d'état'' against the elected caretaker government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The ''coup d'état'', which was Thailand's first ...

, which overthrew the government of Thaksin Shinawatra, against the military-installed government and the government of Abhisit Vejjajiva. Nattawut and his friends had a role in the initiation of the pro-Thaksin PTV channel. Moreover, they hosted the political talkshow

Truth Today Truth Today ( th, ความจริงวันนี้, translit=Kwamjing Wannee) is a Thai political talk show hosted by Veera Musikapong, Jatuporn Prompan and Nattawut Sai-kua. The talkshow began in 2008 during the Samak Sundaravej gov ...

. Nattawut co-organised the mass protests in 2009 and, together with the other UDD heads, led the "Red Shirts" in the fierce protests from March to May 2010 that led to the bloody military crackdowns of April and May. Nattawut,

and other Red-Shirt leaders surrendered themselves to police to prevent further bloodshed during the violent military crackdown on 19 May 2010. Afterwards, Nattawut was prosecuted on terrorism charges. He was released on bail terms on 22 February 2011. At the

2011 Thai general election General elections were held in Thailand on 3 July 2011 to elect the 24th House of Representatives. The protestors of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) or " Red Shirts" who occupied downtown Bangkok in April and May 2010 ...

Nattawut Saikua was elected Member of Parliament on the winning

list. When Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra reshuffled her cabinet on 18 January 2012, Nattawut was named Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives. After the Cabinet reshuffle on 28 October 2012, he changed to the Ministry of Commerce. He lost his government office during the coup d'état on 22 May 2014. After the coup, he was held in military detention for seven days, alongside other "Red Shirt" leaders.

Controversies

In a 2010 speech, Nattawut insinuated that Jarungjit Thikara, a lady-in-waiting of Queen Sirikit, ordered the army to crack down on the 2010 protests on the queen's behalf. On 22 June 2013, a music video surfaced on YouTube featuring Nattawut singing about and promoting local grocery stores. The video received harsh criticism, with some viewers stating it was a waste of government spending.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saikua, Nattawut

Nattawut Saikua Nattawut Saikua ( th, ณัฐวุฒิ ใสยเกื้อ; ; born June 4, 1975) is a Thai politician. He is the secretary-general and spokesman of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship ("Red Shirts"), and a Member of Parli ...

1975 births Living people