Chai Chidchob

Who is Chai Chidchob?

Chai Chidchob has been the President of the National Assembly of Thailand and the Speaker of the House of Representatives since May 15, 2008. He began his career in politics by being appointed as a kamnan in Buri Ram Province and became known by many locals as "Kamnan Chai".

His first experience in national politics began in 1957. Chai contested a seat as a Democrat Party candidate in Surin, but failed to get elected. In 1969, he ran in Buri Ram as an independent candidate and managed to win. He was then re-elected many times. In 2007 Chai was elected to the National Assembly of Thailand as a People's Power Party representative, however, he was previously affiliated with many political parties, including Justice Unity Party, Chart Thai Party, Solidarity and Thai Rak Thai.

He is married to La-ong and they have five sons and one daughter. One of Chai's sons is Newin Chidchob, a powerful politician in the lower northeastern region. The PPP nomination of Chai as the House Speaker is partly credited to Newin. He is a great admirer of Israeli politician and soldier Moshe Dayan, sometimes even calling himself "Chai Moshe".