Pita Limjaroenrat

Pita Limjaroenrat (พิธา ลิ้มเจริญรัตน์,, ; born 5 September 1980), nicknamed Tim (ทิม), is a Thai businessman and politician.

Pita was born on 5 September 1980.

He is the eldest son of Pongsak Limjaroenrat, who previously served as an adviser to the Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, and Linda Limjaroenrat.

His uncle, Padung Limjaroenrat, was a former secretary to the Interior Minister and closely associated with then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Pita's education began at Bangkok Christian College.

At the age of 11, he moved to Hamilton, New Zealand, where he stayed with a middle-class host family.

During his time in New Zealand, he took on part-time jobs, including delivering newspapers and milk, to support himself.

His interest in politics was sparked in an unexpected way: due to the limited television options, which were mostly Australian soap operas or parliamentary debates, he found himself drawn to the political discussions.

This exposure, particularly to speeches by Jim Bolger, then the Prime Minister of New Zealand, played a significant role in developing his political interests.

After completing his secondary education in New Zealand, Pita returned to Thailand and enrolled in Thammasat University, where he pursued a bachelor's degree in finance at the Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy.

During his time in Austin, the 2000 U.S. presidential election unfolded, which Pita notes had a significant impact on his political views.

He then earned an international student scholarship to Harvard University, making him the first Thai student to achieve this distinction.

Pita has expressed that his experiences at Harvard greatly influenced his political beliefs and future policy goals.

Pita's engagement in political circles extended to his involvement with economic advisor Somkid Jatusripitak.

He graduated in 2002 with first-class honors and received a scholarship to study at the University of Texas at Austin.

Upon his return to Thailand in 2005, he took over his family’s rice bran oil company and helped it gain its foothold.

After obtaining a master’s degree in the US, he continued his work in business.

This included accompanying then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to New York City for a United Nations General Assembly meeting in September 2006.

However, Thaksin, who had written Pita's recommendation letter for Harvard, was unable to deliver his speech due to a military coup on 19 September, leading to his departure for London.

Following the coup, upon his return to Thailand, Pita faced a brief detention, which caused him to miss part of his father's funeral.

He continued his academic journey by completing a joint Master in Public Administration degree at the John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University and a Master of Business Administration degree at the Sloan School of Management of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2011.

At the age of 25, Pita returned to Thailand to take over as managing director of CEO Agrifood, a rice bran oil business run by his family, after the death of his father.

The company was able to regain its foothold two years after and allowed Pita to return to the United States where he finished his master's degree in 2011.

He also served as the executive director of Grab Thailand from 2017 to 2018.

Pita became a member of the Future Forward Party (พรรคอนาคตใหม่, ) following an invitation from the party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit.

In 2019, Pita was approached by the pro-democracy Future Forward Party to be a party-list candidate for the 2019 general elections.

He accepted and ultimately won a seat in the House of Representatives.

A member of the House of Representatives, He previously served as Leader of the Move Forward Party, the de facto successor to the dissolved Future Forward Party, from 2020 to 2023.

Educated in New Zealand, Pita studied finance in Thailand.

He further studied politics and business in the United States, having received various scholarships.

Upon the dissolution of Future Forward in 2020, Pita was selected to lead the newly formed Move Forward Party.

Pita led Move Forward to become the largest party in the 2023 general election, winning 151 seats.

Forming a coalition with fellow pro-democracy parties, he announced plans to be elected prime minister of Thailand.

In the first round of parliamentary voting on 13 July 2023, he was not elected by the National Assembly, as he lacked the votes from the Senate.

Later, on 19 July, he was suspended as an MP by the Constitutional Court over shares in the defunct broadcaster ITV.

Pita's second nomination on the same day was blocked by the National Assembly.

Move Forward ultimately joined the opposition following a dispute with their initial coalition partner, Pheu Thai.

Pita resigned as leader of Move Forward in September 2023.

He was succeeded by Chaithawat Tulathon, but continues to be active in the party.

On 24 January, the Constitutional Court cleared him of wrongdoing, securing his status as a Member of the House of Representatives.