Chadchart Sittipunt (, , ; born 24 May 1966) is a Thai politician, engineer, and professor who is the incumbent

Governor of Bangkok The governor of Bangkok (, ) is the head of the local government of Bangkok. The governor is also the chief executive of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA). The governor is elected to a renewable term of four years, currently it is one ...

. He previously was Minister of Transport from 2012 to 2014.

Early life and education

Chadchart is the third son of Police General Sa-nae Sitthiphan, former Commissioner of the

Metropolitan Police Bureau The Metropolitan Police Bureau () is a unit in the Royal Thai Police, and is responsible for maintaining security in Bangkok - the capital of Thailand. There are a total of 14 divisions (command units) and 2 direct divisions which report directly ...

and Jitcharung Kullawanit. His sister, Preechaya Sittipunt, is a retired lecturer in Architecture at Chulalongkorn University. She holds a Master’s degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. His twin brother, Assoc. Prof. Chanchai Sittipunt, is the dean of Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University. Chatchart graduated high school from Chulalongkorn University Demonstration School and Triam Udom Suksa School. He completed a bachelor's degree in

Civil Engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

(First Class Honors) 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 ...

and then received a Master's of

Structural Engineering Structural engineering is a sub-discipline of civil engineering in which structural engineers are trained to design the 'bones and joints' that create the form and shape of human-made Structure#Load-bearing, structures. Structural engineers also ...

from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT) and a Doctorate of Engineering from the

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

in the USA with Ananda Mahidol Foundation Scholarship in 1987. Furthermore, he also completed a Master's degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Chulalongkorn University.

Career

Chadchart used to work as a

structural engineer Structural engineers analyze, design, plan, and research List of structural elements, structural components and structural systems to achieve design goals and ensure the safety and comfort of users or occupants. Their work takes account mainly of ...

in a private company. Later in 1995, he joined the Faculty of Engineering,

as an

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

and an assistant to the president. In addition, he has served as a director in many state enterprises such as The Transport Company Limited, Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand and Aeronautical Radio of Thailand Limited and in 2008 to January 2012 as an independent director Audit Committee and Member of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, Land and Houses Plc. In January 2015, Chadchart was appointed as CEO and managing director of Public Company Limited (QH). On 29 December 2018, Chadchart resigned from the position and returned to work for the

Pheu Thai Party The Pheu Thai Party (PT or PTP; , ) is a major conservative populist list of political parties in Thailand, political party in Thailand. It is the third incarnation of the Thai Rak Thai Party, a political party founded by former Prime Minister ...

Political career

Chadchart as an academic had the opportunity to help and give advice to the Ministry of Transport during the

Thaksin Shinawatra Thaksin Shinawatra (, ; born 26 July 1949) is a Thai businessman and politician who was the 23rd prime minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006. Since 2009 he has also been a citizen of Montenegro. Thaksin founded the mobile phone operator A ...

and Samak Sundaravej governments without holding any position until 2012, when Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra invited him to serve as the Deputy Minister of Transport. Chadchart was appointed as the Minister of Transport in October 2012. Chadchart as Minister of Transport is regarded as an elite figure of the government in the country's strategic planning. In 2019, Chadchart announced that he intended to run in the 2022 Bangkok gubernatorial election as an independent candidate. In February 2022, Chadchart officially launched his gubernatorial election campaign, with the slogan "Bangkok, a liveable city for everyone" () with important policies such as creating a network of maps of crime hotspots, and developing a public transport system to make Bangkok a city of arts and learning. Bhichit Rattakul, former Governor of Bangkok, and Nikom Wairatpanij, former President of the Senate of Thailand also joined Chadchart for the campaign. Chadchart won the 2022 Bangkok gubernatorial election by a landslide with all districts voting for him in one of the biggest wins in the history of Bangkok.

Public image

While serving as a minister, Chadchart had the image of a down-to-earth man. In 2013, an image of Chadchart walking barefoot into a

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...

went viral as an

internet meme An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...

, gaining him the nickname of "the world's strongest minister" in Thai internet circles and media. The memes are often in the same absurd hyperbolic style as the

Chuck Norris Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. Born in Oklahoma, Norris first gained fame when he won the amateur Middleweight Karate champion title in 1968, which he held for six consecutive years. H ...

jokes, and he was often compared to Hanma Yujiro from the Baki manga franchise. In June 2022, a friend of Wanchalearm Satsaksit claimed that the image was taken by Wanchalearm himself. It came during a talk in remembrance of Wanchalearm's second year of getting abducted.

Royal decorations

* 2013 – Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Most Exalted

Order of the White Elephant __NOTOC__ The Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant (; ) is an order (decoration), order of Thailand. It was established in 1861 by King Mongkut, Rama IV of the Thailand, Kingdom of Siam. Along with the Order of the Crown of Thailand, it is r ...

* 2012 – Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sittipunt, Chadchart 1966 births Living people Chadchart Sittipunt Chadchart Sittipunt Chadchart Sittipunt Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Chadchart Sittipunt Chadchart Sittipunt Chadchart Sittipunt Chadchart Sittipunt Chadchart Sittipunt