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Chitpas Kridakon (, ; née Bhirombhakdi , born 16 June 1985) is a Thai politician and activist. She was a member of the Thai
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
from 2019 to 2023. Now Deputy Leader of the Democrat Party. Advisor of the Police’s committee of the house of Thai representative’s


Family and education

Chitpas, also known under her nickname "Tant" (), was born in Bangkok as the eldest daughter of the wealthy Bhirombhakdi family. Her father Chutinant Bhirombhakdi is one of the heirs to the Boon Rawd Brewery fortune and CEO of the
Singha Singha (; RTGS: ''Sing'') is a pale lager beer manufactured in Thailand by the Singha Corporation Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of its parent company, Boon Rawd Brewery. Singha was first brewed in 1933, and in 1939 officially endorsed by King Rama ...
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 ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' in 2011 with an estimated net worth of US$2 billion. 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 The Chakri dynasty is the current reigning dynasty of the Kingdom of Thailand. The head of the house is the king, who is head of state. The family has ruled Thailand since the founding of the Rattanakosin era and the city of Bangkok in 1782; f ...
(great-great-granddaughter of King
Mongkut Mongkut (18 October 18041 October 1868) was the fourth Monarchy of Thailand, king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama IV. He reigned from 1851 until his death in 1868. The reign of Mongkut was marked by significant modernization ini ...
) and actress, primarily known for her portrayal of Queen
Suriyothai Suriyothai (, , ; Burmese: သူရိယောဒယ) was a royal queen consort during the 16th century Ayutthaya period of Siam (now Thailand). She is famous for having given up her life in the defense of her husband, King Maha Chakkrapha ...
in the 2001 history film ''
The Legend of Suriyothai ''The Legend of Suriyothai'' () is a 2001 Thai film written and directed by Chatrichalerm Yukol, which portrays the story of Queen Suriyothai, who died in battle in the Burmese–Siamese War of 1548 sacrificing herself to save the life of Ki ...
''. In 2017, the Asian edition of ''
Tatler ''Tatler'' (stylised in all caps) is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. It focuses on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper and upper-middle c ...
'' magazine chose Chitpas as number two of "Thailand's Most Eligible Ladies". Chitpas went to
Chitralada School The Chitralada School (Thai language, Thai: ; ) is a school established by King Bhumibol Adulyadej on the grounds of Chitralada Royal Villa, Chitralada Palace in Bangkok, Thailand. Considered to be the most exclusive school in Thailand, the scho ...
(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 King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...
in 2009, and a master's degree in public administration from
Chulalongkorn University Chulalongkorn University (CU; ; , ) is a public university, public Autonomous university, autonomous research university in Bangkok, Thailand. The university was originally founded during King Chulalongkorn's reign as a school for training ro ...
in 2014, as the
valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...
of her class.


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 Abhisit Vejjajiva (; , , ; born 3 August 1964) is a Thai politician who was the 27th prime minister of Thailand from 2008 to 2011. He was the leader of the Democrat Party from 2005 until he resigned following the party's weak performance in t ...
. 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 Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and British Overseas Territories. The name is also used in some other countries. Government Houses in th ...
. She resigned her position, 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 Dusit () is the Thai name for Tushita, the fourth heavenly realm in Buddhist cosmology. The name may refer to: * Dusit District, a district of Bangkok * Dusit Palace, namesake of the district *Dusit Subdistrict, Bangkok, in Dusit District * Dusit S ...
and Ratchathewi districts of Bangkok, but lost. 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. Chitpas joined the 2013 anti-government protests and became one of the prominent speakers and faces of the
People's Democratic Reform Committee The People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) or People's Committee for Absolute Democracy with the King as Head of State (PCAD) was a reactionary umbrella political pressure group in Thailand. Its aim was to remove the influence of former pr ...
(PDRC), headed by former Democrat politician Suthep Thaugsuban. 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. Her home was attacked with Molotov cocktails. A week later, the
Bhirombhakdi family The Bhirombhakdi family () is a Thai business family of partial Chinese descent. A branch of the Sreshthaputra family, the family traces its origins to Phraya Bhirombhakdi (personal name Boonrawd Sreshthaputra, 1872–1950), who founded the countr ...
prompted her to change her family name, in order to keep the Bhirombhakdi name and Boon Rawd Brewery out of the conflict. She chose to use her mother's maiden name, Kridakorn. The protests resulted in the May 2014 military coup, which Chitpas and other PDRC leaders celebrated with a party, wearing military-style outfits. After the coup, the PDRC transformed into the People's Democratic Reform Foundation (PDRF) with Chitpas serving as an assistant secretary. In 2015, Chitpas applied for a position at the 191 Police patrol and special operations division of the
Royal Thai Police The Royal Thai Police (RTP) (; ) is the national police force of Thailand. The RTP employs between 210,700 and 230,000 officers, roughly 17 percent of all civil servants (excluding the military and the employees of state-owned enterprises). The R ...
. 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. 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. Her request was denied as she did not submit the necessary documents to prove she qualified for the aid. 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. In her mandatory asset disclosure filing in the new 2019 parliament, Chitpas listed 664.7 million
baht The baht (; , ; currency sign, sign: ฿; ISO 4217, code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). Prior to decimalisation, the baht was divided into eight ''fueang'' (, ), each of eight ''at'' (, ). The ...
in assets.


References


External links

*
The Successors: Chitpas Bhirombhakdi
Channel News Asia CNA (an initialism of Channel NewsAsia) is a Singapore-based multinational news channel owned by Mediacorp, the country's state-owned media conglomerate. The network is broadcast in Singapore on free-to-air terrestrial television and Mediacorp ...
documentary, 2012 (available on YouTube; 23:26 min) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kridakorn, Chitpas 1985 births Living people People educated at Westonbirt School Alumni of King's College London Chitpas Kridakorn Chitpas Kridakorn Chitpas Kridakorn Chitpas Kridakorn Chitpas Kridakorn Chitpas Kridakorn Chitpas Kridakorn Chitpas Kridakorn