Piyabutr Saengkanokkul (Thai: ปิยบุตร แสงกนกกุล, RTGS: Piyabut Saengkanokkun, Thai pronunciation: [pìyábùt sɛ̌ːŋkànòkkūn], born 23 October 1979[3]) 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 and was the first and only Secretary-General for the Future Forward Party, which he co-founded in 2018. Prior to his political career, Piyabut was an associate professor at the Faculty of Law, Thammasat University.[4] He has worked as a constitutional law professor for more than 16 years. In 2020, he was banned from national politics by the Constitutional Court.
Quick Facts Member of Thai House of Representatives, Personal details ...
Piyabutr Saengkanokkul |
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Piyabutr Saengkanokkul in 2019 |
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In office 24 March 2019 – 21 February 2020 |
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Born | 23 October 1979 (1979-10-23) (age 44) Bangkok, Thailand |
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Political party | None |
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Other political affiliations | Future Forward (2018–2020) |
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^ a: Not an official member due to ban,[1] but assisted in election campaigns.[2]
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Piyabutr resigned from his academic career at Thammasat University to create, with Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the Future Forward Party, with an aim towards promoting democracy in Thailand and opposing the military junta.[6] During the party's first meeting, he was elected secretary-general.[7] In the 2019 Thai general election, 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.[8]
In his mandatory disclosure of assets to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), Piyabutr reported assets of 7.7 million baht.[9]
Piyabutr was banned from national politics after the Future Forward Party was dissolved by a Constitutional Court ruling on 21 February 2020, which said that the party was in violation of election laws regarding donations to political parties.[10]
In 2020, Piyabutr and other committee formed the Progressive Movement, an NGO, after the party was dissolved, in which he became a secretary general.[11] 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 by Thepmontri Limpaphayom, an ultra-royalist. Piyabutr vowed to continue as an monarchy-reform acitivist.[12]