Sontirat Sontijirawong (; born 19 March 1960) is a former Thai politician. He served as Minister of Energy in the second cabinet of Prime Minister

Prayut Chan-o-cha Prayut Chan-o-cha (sometimes spelled Prayuth Chan-ocha; , ; born 21 March 1954) is a former Thai politician, army officer and dictator who became the 29th prime minister of Thailand after seizing power in the 2014 Thai coup d'état, 2014 coup ...

. Supattanapong Punmeechaow was appointed as his successor. On 19 January 2022, Sontirat formed a new party alongside

Uttama Savanayana Uttama Savanayana (, born 19 May 1960) is a Thai politician. He served as Minister of Finance in the second cabinet of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. He resigned in July 2020. On 19 January 2022, Savanayana formed a new party called Sang Anako ...

called Sang Anakot Thai (Building Thailand's Future).

Early life and education

Sontirat born on 19 March 1960 in the area of Mueang Kanchanaburi district (now promoted into Dan Makham Tia district since the 1990s). He holds a bachelor's degree in Material science and a Master of Business Administration 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 ...

Careers

Sontirat was a businessman. He was a former member of the National Reform Council, later he was appointed as an advisor to the Minister of Industry in September 2015 by the advice of Deputy Prime Minister

Somkid Jatusripitak Somkid Jatusripitak (, , ; born 15 July 1953) is a Thai economist, business theorist, and politician. A mentee of Philip Kotler, he has (co-)authored books on competitiveness and taught marketing at Thai universities. He was a co-founder and lea ...

and then was appointed as Deputy Minister of Commerce in December 2016 and Minister of Commerce in November 2017. After he joined

Palang Pracharath Party Palang Pracharath Party (, , ; ) is a Thai right-wing conservative civil-military political party with ties to the National Council for Peace and Order, the military junta that ruled the country after the 2014 coup. It was established in 2018 by ...

in the

2019 Thai general election Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' D ...

, he was appointed by

to the position of Minister of Energy until July 2020.

Royal decorations

* 2015 - Companion (Fourth Class) of The Most Admirable

Order of the Direkgunabhorn The Most Admirable Order of the Direkgunabhorn (; ) was established by King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) on 22 July 1991 (B.E. 2534) to be bestowed upon those who have rendered devotional services to the Kingdom of Thailand. The title ''Direkgu ...

* 2017 - Knight Grand Cross (First Class)

Order of the Crown of Thailand The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand (; ) is a Thai order, established in 1869 by King Rama V of The Kingdom of Siam (now Thailand) for Thais, the royal family, governmental employees, and foreign dignitaries for their outstanding serv ...

* 2020 - Knight Commander (Second Class)

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 ...

References

Living people 1960 births Sontirat Sontijirawong Sontirat Sontijirawong Sontirat Sontijirawong Sontirat Sontijirawong Sontirat Sontijirawong Sontirat Sontijirawong Sontirat Sontijirawong {{Thailand-politician-stub