Introducing the profile of “Big Pom” – General Prawit Wongsuwan, the eldest of the three Ps, who has announced he will not continue in the 2026 election and has withdrawn from being the Palang Pracharath Party's prime ministerial candidate.
On 16 December 2025, after the Palang Pracharath Party announced its prime ministerial candidates for the 2026 general election, which included General Prawit Wongsuwan, Ms. Trinuch Thienthong, and Mr. Teerachai Phuwanatnaranubala, the Election Commission declared 27-28 December 2025 as the candidate registration days and set the nationwide election for 8 February 2026.
Most recently, on 24 December 2025, General Prawit Wongsuwan, the party leader, withdrew from the prime ministerial candidacy, replacing himself with Ms. Trinuch Thienthong, Minister of Labor and party secretary-general, due to health issues. However, he remains as party leader.
General Prawit Wongsuwan, known as Big Pom, was born on 11 August 1945, making him 80 years old as of 2025. He currently serves as the leader of the Palang Pracharath Party, former party-list MP, chairman of the Joint Forest Conservation Foundation of five provinces, and was the party's prime ministerial candidate. He is the eldest son of Major General Prasert and Mrs. Saisanee Wongsuwan. He has four younger brothers: Admiral Sitthawatch Wongsuwan, former special advisor to the Navy; Police General Patcharawat Wongsuwan, former Deputy Prime Minister, former Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, and former National Police Chief; Mr. Pongpan Wongsuwan, former head coach of TOT Football Club (deceased); and Mr. Panpong Wongsuwan.
General Prawit graduated from Saint Gabriel's School in 1962, then graduated from the Armed Forces Preparatory School, Class 6, in 1965, and continued to the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy, Class 17, graduating in 1969. In 1978, he attended the Army Command and General Staff College, Class 56, and in 1997, he completed the National Defence College, Class 40, in 2013. General Prawit’s military career developed mainly in the 1st Army Region in the Eastern region, serving with the 21st Infantry Regiment, Queen’s Guards (Queen’s Tigers). He is senior to and close with two former commanders-in-chief of the army: General Anupong Paochinda (Big Pok) and General Prayut Chan-o-cha (Big Tu), the Privy Councilor and 29th Prime Minister.
General Prawit was appointed Minister of Defense in the Abhisit Vejjajiva government in 2008. Later, he was appointed advisor to the director of the Emergency Situation Resolution Center (ESRC) under the Prime Minister’s Office Order No. 98/2009. By late 2010, government reporters at the Government House nicknamed him “Pom Thalu Pao” (Pom Penetrates the Target) for his security role in dispersing the Red Shirt protests successfully, including controversial budget approvals as director of the ESRC. After the 2014 coup, General Prawit was appointed chairman of the advisory board, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Defense in General Prayut Chan-o-cha’s government, also chairing over 50 committees.
On 27 June 2020, the Palang Pracharath Party held its annual general meeting and appointed a new executive committee, electing General Prawit as party leader. On 24 August 2022, General Prawit served as acting prime minister during the Constitutional Court’s order for General Prayut to suspend duties. In the subsequent election, General Prawit parted ways with General Prayut, who joined the Ruam Thai Sang Chart Party. In the 2023 election, General Prawit ran as the party-list candidate number one and was the only Palang Pracharath party-list MP elected. Under the government led by the Pheu Thai Party, Palang Pracharath remains a coalition partner, sending members to ministerial posts, but General Prawit did not hold a ministerial position.
Meanwhile, the Palang Pracharath Party underwent several changes, such as the faction led by Captain Thammanat Prompao taking MPs to the Kla Party, Mr. Santi Promphat joining the Bhumjaithai Party, and Mr. Chaiwat Thanakmanusorn leaving to lead the Rakchat Party. Recently, several new members joined Palang Pracharath, including Lieutenant Colonel Chalerm Yubamrung, a former party-list MP from the Pheu Thai Party, whose son, Mr. Wan Yubamrung, had joined earlier.
For the 2026 election, General Prawit remains a prime ministerial candidate for the Palang Pracharath Party, which faces competition from both established and new parties. Attention now turns to which party will lead the government formation and who will become the next prime minister.
