Piyabutr Saengkanokkul ( th, ปิยบุตร แสงกนกกุล, , , born 23 October 1979) is a Thai academic, activist, former politician, and Secretary-General of the Progressive Movement, a socio-political group. He served as a member of the

Thai House of Representatives The House of Representatives ( th, สภาผู้แทนราษฎร; ; ) is the lower house of the National Assembly of Thailand, the legislative branch of the Thai government. The system of government of Thailand is that of a constit ...

and was the first and only Secretary-General for the

Future Forward Party The Future Forward Party (FFP) ( th, พรรคอนาคตใหม่, , ; literally 'New Future Party') was a political party in Thailand founded in March 2018 by Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, former vice president of Thai Summit Group, a ...

, which he co-founded in 2018. Prior to his political career, Piyabut was an

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. Overview In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a ...

at the

Faculty of Law, Thammasat University The Faculty of Law, Thammasat University ( th, คณะนิติศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยธรรมศาสตร์; ) is an administrative agency of the Thai government, being an academic faculty attached to ...

. He has worked as a constitutional law professor for more than 16 years. In 2020, he was banned from a national politics by a the Constitutional Court.

Early life and academic career

Piyabutr was born on 23 October 1979 into a middle-class

Thai Chinese Thai Chinese (also known as Chinese Thais, Sino-Thais), Thais of Chinese origin ( th, ชาวไทยเชื้อสายจีน; ''exonym and also domestically''), endonym Thai people ( th, ชาวไทย), are Chinese descenda ...

family, the third of four children. Piyabutr graduated secondary school at Assumption College and studied for his bachelor's degree at the

, graduating with second class honors. He received a scholarship from the French government to study for his master's and doctoral degrees. Piyabutr graduated with a master's degree in public law and environmental law from the

University of Nantes The University of Nantes (french: Université de Nantes) is a public university located in the city of Nantes, France. In addition to the several campuses scattered in the city of Nantes, there are two satellite campuses located in Saint-Nazaire a ...

and a PhD with '' Très honorable avec félicitations'' honours from the

University of Toulouse The University of Toulouse (french: Université de Toulouse) was a university in the French city of Toulouse that was established by papal bull in 1229, making it one of the earliest universities to emerge in Europe. Suppressed during the Frenc ...

. Piyabutr became an assistant professor at the Faculty of Law, Thammasat University. He was also a member of ''Nitirat'', a group of Thammasat law professors who campaigned for various ideas considered radical in Thai politics, such as amending the country's lèse majesté laws.

Political career

Piyabutr resigned from his academic career at

Thammasat University Thammasat University (Abbreviation, Abrv: TU th, มธ.; th, มหาวิทยาลัยธรรมศาสตร์, , ) is a public research university in Thailand with campuses in Tha Phra Chan area of Phra Nakhon District near the ...

to create, with

Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit ( th, ธนาธร จึงรุ่งเรืองกิจ, , ; ; born 25 November 1978) is a Thai politician who served as the leader of the Future Forward Party until the party dissolved in 2020. From 200 ...

, the

, with an aim towards promoting democracy in Thailand and opposing the military junta. During the party's first meeting, he was elected secretary-general. In the

2019 Thai general election Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

, Piyabutr was second on the Future Forward's list of party-list candidates and became a member of the lower house as Future Forward were allocated fifty party-list seats. In his mandatory disclosure of assets to the

National Anti-Corruption Commission The National Anti-Corruption Commission may refer to: *National Anti-Corruption Commission (Thailand) * National Anti-Corruption Commission (Saudi Arabia) *National Anti-Corruption Commission (Australia) The National Anti-Corruption Commission, of ...

(NACC), Piyabutr reported assets of 7.7 million

baht The baht (; th, บาท, ; currency sign, sign: ฿; ISO 4217, code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand. Society for Worldw ...

. Piyabutr was banned from a national politic after the Future Forward Party was dissolved by the Constitutional Court ruling on 21 February 2020, which said that the party was in violation of election laws regarding donations to political parties.

Political activist

In 2020, Piyabutr and other committee formed the

Progressive Movement Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, techno ...

, an NGO, after the party was dissolved, in which he became a secretary general. During the monarchy-reform movements in 2020-2021, he supports young protesters and gives out series of political speeches. In June 2022, he was accused of

lèse-majesté Lèse-majesté () or lese-majesty () is an offence against the dignity of a ruling head of state (traditionally a monarch but now more often a president) or the state itself. The English name for this crime is a borrowing from the French, w ...

by Thepmontri Limpaphayom, an ultra-royalist. Piyabutr vowed to continue as an monarchy-reform acitivist.

Personal life

Piyabutr is married to

Eugénie Mérieau Eugénie Mérieau (born 1986) is a French political scientist and constitutionalist, specialising in politics of Thailand, authoritarian constitutionalism and legal transplants. She is an associate professor ''(maître de conférences)'' of Publi ...

, a French academic.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saengkanokkul, Piyabutr

Piyabutr Saengkanokkul Piyabutr Saengkanokkul ( th, ปิยบุตร แสงกนกกุล, , , born 23 October 1979) is a Thai academic, activist, former politician, and Secretary-General of the Progressive Movement, a socio-political group. He served as a ...

Living people 1979 births