Chai Chidchob ( th, ชัย ชิดชอบ, , ; 5 April 1929 – 24 January 2020) was

President of the National Assembly of Thailand The President of the National Assembly ( th, ประธานรัฐสภา; ; ) is the presiding officer (speaker) of the National Assembly of Thailand. Since 1997, the office has been an ''ex officio'' position occupied by the Speaker of ...

and the Speaker of the House of Representatives from 15 May 2008 to 10 May 2011.

Political career

He began his career in politics by being appointed as a ''

kamnan A kamnan ( th, กำนัน) is a Thai governing official at the tambon ''Tambon'' ( th, ตำบล, ) is a local governmental unit in Thailand. Below district ('' amphoe'') and province ('' changwat''), they form the third administrative s ...

'' in Buriram Province and became known to locals as "Kamnan Chai". His national political career began in 1957. Chai contested a seat as a Democrat Party candidate in Surin, but failed to get elected. In 1969, he ran in

Buriram Buriram (, , , 'city of happiness') is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in Thailand, capital of Buriram Province, about northeast of Bangkok. The town occupies '' tambon'' Nai Mueang of Mueang Buriram District. In 2012 it had a population of 27,8 ...

as an independent candidate and managed to win. He was then reelected many times. In

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

Chai was elected to the

National Assembly of Thailand The National Assembly of Thailand ( Abrv: NAT; th, รัฐสภา, , ) is the bicameral legislative branch of the government of Thailand. It convenes in the Sappaya-Sapasathan, Dusit District, Bangkok. The National Assembly was establish ...

as a People's Power Party representative, however, he was previously affiliated with many political parties, including

Justice Unity Party The Justice Unity Party ( th, พรรคสามัคคีธรรม, ) was a Thai pro-military and conservative political party established after the military coup d'état of 1991. It was founded by Narong Wongwan, who became party chairm ...

Chart Thai Party Thai Nation Party, or Chart Thai Party ( th, พรรคชาติไทย, ) was a conservative political party in Thailand. It was dissolved by the Constitutional Court of Thailand on December 2, 2008, along with the People's Power Party ...

, Solidarity Party and

Thai Rak Thai The Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT; th, พรรคไทยรักไทย, , ; "Thais Love Thais Party") was a Thai political party founded in 1998. From 2001 to 2006, it was the ruling party under its founder, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatr ...

Personal life and education

He was married to La-ong. They had five sons and one daughter. One of Chai's sons is Newin Chidchob, a politician in the lower northeastern region. The PPP nomination of Chai as the house speaker is partly credited to Newin. He was an admirer of Israeli politician and soldier

Moshe Dayan Moshe Dayan ( he, משה דיין; 20 May 1915 – 16 October 1981) was an Israeli military leader and politician. As commander of the Jerusalem front in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (1953–1958) du ...

, sometimes even calling himself "Chai Moshe". Chai graduated high school from Surawitthayakhan School in Surin Province. He was awarded a BA in political science by

Ramkhamhaeng University Ramkhamhaeng University (RU) ( th, มหาวิทยาลัยรามคำแหง) is Thailand's largest public university. It was named in honour of King Ramkhamhaeng the Great of Sukhothai. The university provides an effective and e ...

and a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in agricultural extension and cooperative promotion from

Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University or STOU () is the only open university in Thailand. History Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University was officially established by royal charter on 5 September 1978 as Thailand's eleventh state university to ...

Death

Chai died at his house in

on 24 January 2020.

Royal decorations

Chai received the following royal decorations in the Honours System of Thailand: * Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of The Most Noble

Order of the Crown of Thailand The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand ( th, เครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันมีเกียรติยศยิ่งมงกุฎไทย; ) is a Thai order, established in 1869 by King Rama ...

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

Order of the White Elephant __NOTOC__ The Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant ( th, เครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันเป็นที่เชิดชูยิ่งช้างเผือก; ) is an order of Thailand. It wa ...

* Commander (Third Class) of The Most Admirable

Order of the Direkgunabhorn __NOTOC__ The Most Admirable Order of the Direkgunabhorn ( th, เครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันเป็นที่สรรเสริญยิ่งดิเรกคุณาภรณ์; ) was establi ...

References

1929 births 2020 deaths Chai Chidchob Chai Chidchob Chai Chidchob Chai Chidchob Chai Chidchob Chai Chidchob Chai Chidchob Chai Chidchob Chai Chidchob Chai Chidchob {{Thailand-politician-stub