The
Chart Pattana Puea Pandin Party is a
ThaiThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
political party. It is the official continuation of the Ruam Chart Pattana Party, and was formed in 2011 by the merger of this party with the Puea Pandin Party. The leader of the party is
Wannarat ChannukulWannarat Channukul is a Thai physician and politician. He is the leader of the Chart Pattana Puea Pandin Party and Minister of Energy in the cabinets of Abhisit Vejjajiva and Yingluck Shinawatra....
. In the election on 3 July 2011, the party won 7 of the 500 seats in the House of Representatives, five constituency-based and two on the party list. Before the elections, Ruam Jai Thai Chart Pattana and Puea Pandin together had 41 seats. After the elections and Pheu Thai Party's victory, the party agreed with Pheu Thai and three other minor parties to form a coalition government under the leadership of
Yingluck ShinawatraYingluck Shinawatra , or nickname Pu , is a Thai businesswoman and politician, member of the Pheu Thai Party, and the 28th Prime Minister of Thailand following the 2011 general election...
.
Ruam Chart Pattana Party
The
Ruam Chart Pattana, or Ruam Jai Thai Chart Pattana (
Thais United National Development Party) was formed as a merger of
Thais UnitedThais United was a political party in Thailand founded on 26 June 2007. Its members included many well-known politicians, among them former deputy prime minister Somkid Jatusripitak , former Democrat Party secretary-general Pradit Pattaraprasit, former Bangkok governor Bhichit Rattakul, former...
and the
National Development PartyThe National Development Party is a Thai political party. In September 2007, it was announced that it merged with Thais United to form a joint party provisionally known as Ruam Jai Thai Chat Pattana....
in September 2007. In the
Thai general election, 2007The 2007 Thai general elections were held on 23 December. This was the first legislative election after the Council for National Security, a military junta, had overthrown Thailand's elected government and abrogated the constitution on September 19, 2006. The junta had canceled general elections...
, the party received enough votes to gain eight out of 480 seats in the
House of Representatives of ThailandThe House of Representatives of the Kingdom of Thailand is the lower house of the National Assembly of Thailand, the legislative branch of the Thai Government. The system of government of Thailand is that of a Constitutional Monarchy and a Parliamentary Democracy. The system of the Thai...
. The party was a member of the six-party
coalition government led by the
Democrat Party'sThe Democrat Party is Thailand's oldest political party and was the main coalition government party of the 23rd House of Representatives of Thailand. The Democrat Party's current leader is Abhisit Vejjajiva, incumbent opposition leader and former Prime Minister. The party upholds a conservative...
leader,
Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister of Thailand is the head of government of Thailand. The Prime Minister is also the chairman of the Cabinet of Thailand. The post has existed since the Revolution of 1932, when the country became a constitutional monarchy....
Abhisit VejjajivaAbhisit Vejjajiva , , ; born Mark Abhisit Vejjajiva; 3 August 1964 in Newcastle upon Tyne) is a Thai politician who was the 27th Prime Minister of Thailand from 2008 to 2011 and is the current leader of the Democrat Party...
. The party's leader Wannarat Channukul was Minister of Energy in
Abhisit's cabinetThe Abhisit Cabinet was announced after the appointment of Abhisit Vejjajiva as Prime Minister of Thailand on the 17 December 2008. The Cabinet line-up itself was announced on the 20 December, to the news media. The Cabinet was formally sworn in by His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej on the 22...
.