Introducing Sophon Sarum, the new Speaker of the House of Representatives, a close associate of Newin Chidchob directly from Buriram. The parliamentary session voted smoothly to appoint him as the head of the legislature, taking the Speaker's position.
On 15 March 2026 GMT+7, the House of Representatives held a secret ballot to elect a new Speaker. Although the initial voting faced some difficulties and two candidates were nominated: Mr. Sophon Sarum, MP for Buriram from the Bhumjaithai Party representing the government side, and Mr. Parit Watcharasindhu, party-list MP from the People’s Party representing the opposition, the final vote confirmed Mr. Sophon as the direct choice.The dominant political factionfrom Buriram performed as expected.
Mr. Sophon Sarum was born on 31 March 1959 and is currently 67 years old. He is a native of Lam Plai Mat district, Buriram province. His father, Mr. Sanan Sarum, was a village headman. He has one elder brother, Mr. Sombun Sarum, former MP for Buriram's 3rd constituency from the Bhumjaithai Party, who was implicated in a vote-rigging scandal but was cleared by the National Anti-Corruption Commission due to insufficient evidence.
Mr. Sophon is married to Mrs. Areeyaporn Sarum, mayor of Lam Plai Mat municipality. They have three children, one of whom, Mr. Anatapon Sarum, a former member of the Buriram Provincial Administrative Organization council, died in an accident in 2017 at the age of 30. After his son's death, Mr. Sophon founded and now chairs the Anatapon Sarum (Look Teng) Foundation to provide social support.
Regarding education, Mr. Sophon graduated with a Bachelor of Education in Elementary Education from Buriram Teachers College before entering politics. He initially worked as a teacher. In 2001, he ran for MP of Buriram under the Chart Thai Party and was elected. In 2005, he switched to the Thai Rak Thai Party and was re-elected. After Thai Rak Thai was dissolved, he joined the People's Power Party, which was also later dissolved.
In 2007, Mr. Sophon, known as a close associate of Newin Chidchob, joined the Bhumjaithai Party, which split from the People's Power Party and allied with MPs from the Neutral Democratic Party to support the Democrat Party, enabling Abhisit Vejjajiva to become Prime Minister.
Mr. Sophon held significant political positions, including Deputy Minister of Transport under Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, Minister of Transport under Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, and Chairman of the Transport Commission during Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's administration. Currently, he is Chairman of the Education Commission. In the final reshuffle of Anutin Charnvirakul's cabinet, he was named Deputy Prime Minister, marking his return to ministerial office after 14 years.
In the 2026 election, the Bhumjaithai Party achieved a landslide victory, winning 192 seats. Mr. Sophon returned to parliament, this time nominated as the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Most recently, on 15 March 2026 GMT+7, the House of Representatives voted to appoint Mr. Sophon as Speaker. This means Buriram now holds both the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate positions, the latter currently held by Mr. Mongkol Surasajja, also a close ally from the dominant Buriram faction.
