Profile of Pipat Ratchakitprakarn, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport, continuing his role in the same post in the Anutin 2 Cabinet. A businessman from the PTG Energy family who has never lost a ministerial seat.
On 31 March 2025 GMT+7, reporters reported that Mr. Pipat Ratchakitprakarn, also known as Ko Kia, a powerful figure from the South and a key leader of the Bhumjaithai Party, was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport in the Anutin 2 Cabinet. This is the same position he held during the Anutin 1 Cabinet. Despite earlier rumors suggesting he might lose the Deputy Prime Minister post and retain only the Minister of Transport position due to the party having to allocate three ministerial seats to outsiders, the latest Royal Gazette announcement confirmed that Mr. Pipat's ministerial seat remains secure without any change.
Mr. Pipat Ratchakitprakarn, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport, nicknamed "Kia," was born on 5 August 1955. He is currently 70 years old and a native of Hat Yai District, Songkhla Province. He is the son of Mr. Sutat and Mrs. Kuihiang Ratchakitprakarn and the elder brother of Mr. Piboon Ratchakitprakarn, a Member of Parliament for Satun with the Bhumjaithai Party, and Mr. Pitak Ratchakitprakarn, CEO and Managing Director of PTG Energy Public Company Limited.
In his personal life, he married Mrs. Natee Ratchakitprakarn in 1990 and has three children: Mr. Chonlat Ratchakitprakarn, a party-list MP for Bhumjaithai Party; Mr. Pokkhet Ratchakitprakarn; and Ms. Pokkran Ratchakitprakarn. He is currently married to Mr. Sutthipong Wannawanich, Managing Director of Petroleum Thai Corporation Co., Ltd., part of the PTG Energy group.
Mr. Pipat graduated from Saengthong Wittaya School in Songkhla, then earned bachelor's and master's degrees in Political Science from the Faculty of Political Science, Ramkhamhaeng University. Before entering politics, he managed the family’s fishing fleet business in the Andaman Sea. The business was later listed on the stock exchange as PTG Energy. He declared net assets of 1.185 billion baht to the National Anti-Corruption Commission.
Mr. Pipat entered politics after being invited by Mr. Wathana Asawamah when the Mahachon Party was founded in 1998 to build a political base in the South. He served as a party executive. In 2011, he joined the Bhumjaithai Party. After the 2019 election, Bhumjaithai joined the government led by Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha, with Palang Pracharath Party as the main coalition. This allowed Mr. Pipat to assume his first ministerial role as Minister of Tourism and Sports.
In 2021, the Bhumjaithai Party appointed him as deputy party leader and chair of the candidate selection committee for the House of Representatives elections. When the Pheu Thai Party formed the government with Bhumjaithai as a coalition partner, a notable incident occurred: after a joint press conference announcing the government formation, Bhumjaithai leaders, including Mr. Pipat, were blocked by Ms. Netiporn Sanesangkhom, known as Bung Taluwang, and her group from leaving the building. They expressed anger at Pheu Thai's termination of the MOU with the Move Forward Party, hurling severe insults. Mr. Pipat attempted to calm and reason with them. The incident made front-page news nationwide. Shortly after, he was appointed Minister of Labour in the governments of Mr. Srettha Thavisin and Ms. Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
In 2025, after the Constitutional Court removed Ms. Paetongtarn Shinawatra from the premiership, the Bhumjaithai Party, along with coalition partners such as the Kla Party, led the formation of a new minority government. The Prachachat Party supported Mr. Anutin Charnvirakul, leader of Bhumjaithai, as Prime Minister through a memorandum of agreement. Mr. Pipat was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport.
Most recently, entering the Anutin 2 Cabinet following Bhumjaithai's landslide victory with 192 seats, Mr. Pipat was again appointed Deputy Prime Minister while concurrently holding the Minister of Transport position, maintaining his previous roles.
