Suchatvee Suwansawat: Rapping professor leads Thailand’s first education party

Suchatvee Suwansawat, a celebrated academic turned Democrat deputy leader, has quit the crisis-hit party to lead a new one.

His decision came after less than four years with the country’s oldest political party, whose popularity has plunged in recent years. The number of Democrat MPs fell from 159 in the 2011 general election to 53 in 2019 and just 25 in the national vote two years ago.

The last straw for Suchatvee was seemingly the party’s decision in June to stick with the Pheu Thai-led coalition government despite the border-dispute scandal engulfing then-PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra.

While the second-largest partner, Bhumjaithai, withdrew from the alliance, the Democrats and other small parties chose to back Paetongtarn amid public uproar over a leaked phone call in which she appeased Cambodian strongman Hun Sen while criticising her own military commander.

Calling it quits

In early July, Suchatvee resigned from all party positions after the Democrats’ executive board, led by Chalermchai Sri-on, announced it would remain with the Pheu Thai-led coalition. Suchatvee reportedly walked out of an executive meeting in protest at the decision.

Chalermchai stepped down as party leader on September 12, triggering speculation that Suchatvee would join prominent ex-Democrats in helping restore the party’s popularity.

Instead, Suchatvee joined forces with Khunying Kalaya Sophonpanich, a fellow Democrat ex-deputy leader, in promoting a new political party – “Thai Kao Mai” – or Thailand’s New Steps. Kalaya, a former science minister and member of the family that owns Bangkok Bank, quit the Democrats in September.

Suchatvee has become Thai Kao Mai leader while Kalaya serves as its chairperson. They were elected along with other executive members at the party’s September 20 general meeting.

Rather than being born from scratch, Thai Kao Mai is a rebranded version of an existing political party, “Rak Pa” (Forest Conservation), founded in 2013 by Damrong Pidet, a former director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.

Focusing on education

Suchatvee, 53, was an engineering professor and university rector before entering politics in late 2021. After quitting his former party, he said he wanted to devote his time to improving education to drive national development.

At the party launch on October 3, Suchatvee said Thai Kao Mai aims to strengthen Thailand by enhancing the quality of human resources through education.

“Education helps build the nation … Education is the future and medicine that cures poverty. Education is the most powerful weapon,” the party leader said. “Investment in education is key for the country’s future.”

He added that his party would consider joining a coalition government after the next general election in return for control of the Education Ministry.

Suchatvee was born in Chonburi on April 20, 1972. Both of his parents taught at a vocational college in neighbouring Rayong province.

After completing high school in Rayong, he won a scholarship to study at King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL) and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering.

He was then awarded a Thai government scholarship to further his studies in the US, where he earned a master’s in civil engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a doctorate in geotechnical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

In 2003, Suchatvee began his academic career at his alma mater, KMITL. He earned his professorship in engineering in 2010 and was appointed dean of KMITL’s Engineering Faculty that same year.

From academia to politics

He was appointed KMITL’s rector in 2015 but stepped down six years later to join the Democrat Party in late 2021.

Under his leadership, KMITL developed partnerships with leading foreign institutions in the US, Japan, and France.

As KMITL rector, Suchatvee chaired Council of University Presidents of Thailand meetings between 2017 and 2020. He was also elected president of the Association of Southeast Asian Institutions of Higher Learning for 2019-2020.

Suchatvee earned a reputation among students as friendly and approachable. The rector even played on his youthful looks by dressing as a first-year student and surprising “fellow newcomers” with a rap performance at their orientation ceremony.

He served as president of the Engineering Institute of Thailand from 2014 to 2016 and headed the Council of Engineers between 2019 and 2021.

In December 2021, Suchatvee left the academic world to enter politics, stepping down from KMITL to become Democrat Party candidate in the Bangkok governor’s election. However, he finished a distant second to Chadchart Sittipunt in the May 2022 vote.

Returning to national politics, he was appointed deputy Democrat leader in charge of the party’s Bangkok policy platforms. He contested the 2023 general election as a list candidate but failed to get elected.