From bureaucrat to PM hopeful: Jatuporn Buruspat takes aim at populist politics

Jatuporn Buruspat, a veteran bureaucrat and short-lived commerce minister in Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s government, announced his ambition to run the country as he launched his new political party recently.

The New Opportunity Party leader is targeting at least 25 MP seats in the upcoming election, due on February 8 – the minimum required for a party to nominate a prime ministerial candidate.

Jatuporn announced himself as his party’s first PM nomination at the party’s launch on December 21, with the other two to be named soon.

The bureaucrat-turned-politician vowed to draw on decades of civil service experience if chosen to run the country. “As a bureaucrat, I did my best under the authority granted to me. With real power, you would see what more I could do,” he said.

Jatuporn, 61, was the longest-serving permanent secretary at the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, holding the post for five years and nine months before joining the Pheu Thai-led government in late June. He served as director-general of several departments over nearly four decades in the bureaucracy.

Protecting the monarchy

Jatuporn says New Opportunity is willing to work with any political party that “does not offend the monarchy”, emphasising loyalty to the sovereign as a core party policy.

Its policy platform also pledges a welfare system to support citizens from cradle to grave, while tackling climate change, the economic crisis, and social inequality.

He said major crises impacting Thailand – including natural disasters, economic woes, and poor quality of life – were the result of a lack of systematic governance. His party would therefore prioritise efficient management in addressing the country’s problems, while avoiding political manoeuvring.

“Our policies are practical – we are not trying to sell unrealistic dreams to voters. The policies are based on real data and experience in the bureaucracy. They are not designed for short-term popularity,” Jatuporn said.

“Thailand is not a training ground. The country requires people with real experience and a true sense of responsibility,” he added.

Financiers gone with Suchart

Jatuporn was joined at the party launch by several veteran politicians and well-known socialites.

New Opportunity was rebranded from the inactive Thai Pen Nueng (“Thailand Is Number One”) party, founded in January 2021. A party general meeting in early November elected Jatuporn as leader, along with 26 new executive committee members.

The fledgling party was initially thought to be the preferred home of a large group of rebel MPs from the conservative United Thai Nation Party (UTN), led by veteran politician Suchart Chomklin. However, Suchart’s faction instead opted for the ruling Bhumjaithai Party, which is seen as the election frontrunner after attracting numerous political dynasties and groups from other parties.

Analysts say Jatuporn was appointed commerce minister despite lacking party membership because he was backed by UTN financiers linked to Suchart. When Suchart’s faction shifted its allegiance to Bhumjaithai, New Opportunity lost those wealthy financiers.

Jatuporn, however, has denied his party is “owned” by rich benefactors. “New Opportunity is a party formed of people with the same ideology – unlike most other parties, which prioritise winning elections,” he added.

Four decades in bureaucracy

Born on November 3, 1964, in Chiang Mai, Jatuporn earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science from Chulalongkorn University, followed by a second master’s in forest resource and environmental management from Kasetsart University.

He entered the civil service in 1987 at the Interior Ministry’s Department of Provincial Administration. In 2002, aged 38, he joined the newly formed Natural Resources and Environment Ministry as deputy director-general of the Department of Environmental Quality Promotion.

Over the next two decades, he steadily rose through the ranks, serving as director-general of several key departments, including the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources from 2017 to 2019, before assuming the ministry’s top post in October 2019.

Last June, he resigned as permanent secretary to join Paetongtarn’s Cabinet, just three months ahead of his scheduled retirement at the end of September.

His appointment as commerce minister was part of a Cabinet reshuffle triggered by Bhumjaithai's abrupt withdrawal from Paetongtarn’s coalition government.

However, he was forced to vacate his ministerial seat just three months later after the embattled Pheu Thai-led government collapsed following PM Paetongtarn’s dismissal by court order for breaching ethical standards in her leaked border-dispute phone call with Cambodia’s Hun Sen.