A profile of Abhisit Vejjajiva after his comeback as leader of the Democrat Party, regarded as a devoted servant of the land goddess, who has led the party's ratings to steadily rise within just a few months.
On 17 December 2025 GMT+7, political activity continues to intensify following the Election Commission's announcement of the official election timeline. The election day is set for 8 February 2026 GMT+7, with advance voting on 1 February 2026 GMT+7. Candidate registration for constituency elections is scheduled for 27-31 December 2025 GMT+7, while party-list candidate registration is from 28-31 December 2025 GMT+7, including the announcement of prime ministerial candidates.
The Democrat Party will reveal its prime ministerial candidates next week, with expectations that Abhisit Vejjajiva and Korn Chatikavanij will be nominated to regain voter support before the election campaign begins.
Abhisit Vejjajiva, nicknamed Mark, was born on 3 August 1964 in Newcastle, England. He is currently 61 years old. Regarding his education, he attended Yukkathorn Kindergarten and then the Demonstration School of Chulalongkorn University for primary school. After completing grade 6, he returned to England to study at Sketcliffe School and then Eton College, a prestigious private boarding school near London.
He earned a bachelor's degree with first-class honors in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) from the University of Oxford, followed by a master's degree in Economics at Oxford, where his thesis was highly regarded. Additionally, he pursued another bachelor's degree in Law at Ramkhamhaeng University.
Abhisit is the son of Professor Dr. Attasit Vejjajiva, former Deputy Minister of Public Health and former president of Mahidol University, and Professor Dr. Sodsai Vejjajiva. His older sister is Professor Dr. Alisa Vajarasinthu, head of the Child Psychiatry Unit at the Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, and mother of Parit Vajarasinthu (Ice), former party-list MP of the People's Party. His aunt is Ngamphan Vejjajiva, a writer and translator. Abhisit is married to Professor Pimpen Vejjajiva (née Sakuntabhai), a former dentist and assistant professor in the Mathematics Department at the Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University. They have two children: Prang and Pannasit Vejjajiva.
Abhisit once taught at the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy in Nakhon Nayok Province. After completing his master's degree, he became a faculty member at the Faculty of Economics, Thammasat University. He was then elected as a Member of Parliament for Bangkok with the Democrat Party in 1992 at age 27, being the only Democrat MP to win a Bangkok seat at that time. He also served as government spokesperson during Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai’s first administration and as Minister attached to the Prime Minister’s Office during Chuan’s second term.
In 2005, he was trusted by the party to become its leader and was appointed prime minister by parliamentary vote in 2008 at age 44, supported by the group aligned with Newin Chidchob, following the dissolution of the People's Power Party. His appointment faced criticism amid allegations of military involvement in pushing him into the premiership.
While serving as prime minister, Abhisit faced major protests in April 2009. Red-shirt protesters besieged his vehicle and that of Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban while moving through city roads in Pattaya after a Cabinet meeting on 7 April 2009. Protesters blocked motorcycles in front of the cars, shouted insults, threw helmets breaking the rear glass, and smashed the front windshield with sticks. Police later charged the perpetrators with attempted murder.
Another key incident occurred on 12 April 2009 when red-shirt protesters surrounded Abhisit's official car as he was returning from the Ministry of Interior. Abhisit recounted the event on the Thairath Talk show.
“That day, I went to the Ministry of Interior to announce the emergency decree. As I was leaving, protesters surrounded my car, accusing the government of violence. People surged forward, and I was trapped for about 20 minutes. Eventually, the driver managed to reverse and break through the gate.”
“I confirm that I stayed inside the car. I thought, how else could I have escaped? Although the car was bulletproof, after that incident, the bodywork was unusable.”
Abhisit also served as leader of the opposition in the House of Representatives during Yingluck Shinawatra’s administration. This was a period marked by his strong role in government oversight. However, in the 2019 general election, the Democrat Party won only 53 seats, below expectations. During the campaign, the party declared it would not join a government led by the military junta. Yet, unable to lead the formation of a government, most party members voted to join a coalition with the Palang Pracharath Party, headed by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Following approaches from Thamanat Prompow, Abhisit announced his resignation as party leader and as a party-list MP on the day of the prime ministerial vote at the Parliament building. Later, in 2023, he resigned from party membership after senior party figure Chuan Leekpai nominated candidates for party leadership including Chalermchai Sri-on.
In 2025, Chalermchai announced his resignation as party leader, prompting some MPs to approach Abhisit and Korn Chatikavanij to restore the party's fortunes. Abhisit was overwhelmingly voted back as Democrat Party leader without opposition.
On 17 October 2025 GMT+7, Abhisit posted on his personal Facebook alongside former Democrat Party members, saying, “I volunteer to serve the people again as a devoted son of the land goddess.” Meanwhile, pre-election polls indicate his ratings have steadily increased within just a few months since his comeback.
