Energy Minister Pirapan Salirathavibhaga is under increasing pressure from political opponents, with rumours circulating that he is about to be fired from his post and see his party expelled from the coalition government.
Pirapan, leader of the United Thai Nation Party, hinted recently that the political attacks against him were linked to his ongoing efforts to end monopolies in the country’s energy sector.
“My actions to improve life for ordinary Thais will harm those who have profited for the past 50 years [from energy sector monopolies,” he said in a Facebook post early this month.
“I know dirty tricks are coming my way, but I am not scared. I will not give up as long as the public is behind me.”
A seven-time MP, the 65-year-old veteran politician claims he is a victim of fake news spread by “self-proclaimed media” and attacks by fake social media accounts.
Pirapan, who also serves as a deputy prime minister, denies having any conflict with Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra or the ruling Pheu Thai Party that she leads. He maintains that both the PM and her predecessor, Srettha Thavisin, backed his plan to dismantle monopolies as this is a major policy of the Pheu Thai-led government.
The Energy Ministry is working on two new laws under Pirapan’s leadership – one aimed at ensuring fair prices for Thai oil and gas consumers, and the other at promoting solar energy by eradicating red tape for consumers seeking to install rooftop solar panels.
The minister is pushing for replacement of the Oil Fuel Fund Office with a new commission to manage the Oil Fuel Fund and improve regulation of retail oil and cooking gas prices. He has also floated the idea of launching a strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) to relieve the impact of global oil price fluctuations and ensure sufficient supplies in the event of disruption to deliveries from the Middle East.
Son of an energy pioneer
Pirapan was born in Bangkok on February 21, 1959. His father, Lt-General Narong, was a pioneer of Thailand’s energy industry, founding the country’s first oil refinery in Chiang Mai in 1959 and launching the modern petroleum industry in the kingdom.
Narong served as chief of the Defence Energy Department and then director of the state-owned Thai Fuel Organisation – the precursor of the Petroleum Authority of Thailand, which is now PTT Plc.
Pirapan studied for a bachelor’s degree in law from Thammasat University before obtaining his licence from the Thai Bar Association. He went on to earn a master’s degree in comparative law from Tulane University in the US.
After returning to Thailand, Pirapan began his law career in 1986, working as an assistant judge under the Justice Ministry, before becoming a full-fledged judge and serving in various provincial courts.
From law to politics
Regarding his career switch, Pirapan has stated that he decided to enter politics to become an MP and push for new laws that would improve social justice – something he could not achieve as a judge.
He contested the 1992 general election as a Democrat Party candidate but failed to win a seat. However, he succeeded on his next attempt four years later, making his debut in Parliament as a Democrat MP for Bangkok.
Pirapan was re-elected six more times, most recently in May 2023, under the three-year-old United Thai Nation Party, which he serves as leader.
The highlight of his career as a Democrat MP came in December 2008 when he was appointed justice minister in the Abhisit Vejjajiva government, serving until August 2011.
In May 2019, he joined the race to become Democrat leader after Abhisit stepped down in response to the party’s dismal performance in the election two months earlier. However, Jurin Laksanavisit won the race after earning support from Democrat heavyweights.
Gaining new roles
Pirapan quit the Democrats in December 2019 after almost three decades as a member. Just days after resigning from the country’s oldest party, he was appointed as adviser to then-prime minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha.
In October 2021, he became a member of the ruling Palang Pracharath Party and was named as adviser to its leader, General Prawit Wongsuwan. However, he quit the party a few months later in April 2022.
United Thai Nation, a party set up to help Prayut return to power at the 2023 election, selected Pirapan as its first leader in August 2022. He was also appointed PM Prayut’s secretary-general in December of that year.
Pirapan earned praise for spearheading a successful legal challenge against an arbitration tribunal’s order that the Transport Ministry and State Railway of Thailand pay 25.7 billion baht to Hopewell Thailand as compensation for terminating a contract to build an elevated highway and railway in 1998. The Supreme Court overruled the order in March 2022.
