Biography of Wirat Meenchainan, former Minburi councilor from the Pheu Thai Party who served five terms, decides to re-enter local politics under the "Pheu Thai Life Stable" group.
On 26 May 2026, after the "Pheu Thai Life Stable" group launched its candidates for the Bangkok Metropolitan Council elections, among them was Mr. Wirat Meenchainan, former Minburi councilor for five terms. His Facebook profile has also been updated to reflect his affiliation with this group.
Regarding his background, Wirat Meenchainan was born on 16 February 1963 and is currently 63 years old.
- He holds a bachelor's degree, Bachelor of Science, from Chiang Mai University.
- He earned a master's degree, Master of Political Science, from Ramkhamhaeng University.
- He is the younger brother of Mr. Wichan Meenchainan, former Deputy Minister of Public Health.
- His uncle is Mr. Supanat Meenchainan, a two-term Bangkok MP from the People's Party.
On 11 February 2001, Wirat entered local politics by becoming the Minburi district councilor for the first time under the Thai Rak Thai Party, succeeding his elder brother Wichan who had resigned. He was then elected as a Bangkok Metropolitan Council member for five terms, as follows.
1. Councilor, 1998-2002, Thai Rak Thai Party (elected to fill a vacancy in 2001).
2. Councilor, 2002-2006, Thai Rak Thai Party.
3. Councilor, 2006-2010, Thai Rak Thai Party.
4. Councilor, 2010-2014, Pheu Thai Party.
5. Councilor, 2022-2026, Pheu Thai Party (resigned on 19 December 2025).
Wirat and the Meenchainan family are a prominent and influential family in Minburi, with a long history starting from Mr. Suthee Meenchainan, uncle of Wichan and Wirat. The family operates multiple businesses including rice milling, construction contracting, building materials trading, and real estate. They own several properties and thousands of rai of land in Bangkok worth tens of billions of baht. They also serve as honorary chairpersons of several foundations in Thailand, such as the honorary chairman of the Thai-Chinese Chamber of Commerce.
His elder brother, Wichan, has extensive political experience, serving two terms as a councilor from 1994-2000, first deputy chairman of the Bangkok Metropolitan Council in 1998, four terms as a Bangkok MP from 2001-2013, assistant secretary to the Minister of Education during Mr. Aree Wong-araya's tenure, advisor to the Deputy Minister of Public Health during Mr. Cholnan Srikaew's tenure, and Deputy Minister of Public Health in the governments of Mr. Samak Sundaravej and Mr. Somchai Wongsawat. He was also deputy leader of the Pheu Thai Party.
Before fully entering local politics, Wirat held several key positions including former director of the Chatuchak Market and former advisor to the Deputy Minister of Finance (Chavarat Charnvirakul). He was continuously elected as a councilor and served as the 23rd chairman of the Bangkok Metropolitan Council from 2022 to 2024. His nephew, Mr. Supanat Meenchainan (Bank), is a two-term Bangkok MP from the People's Party. This demonstrates the Meenchainan family's considerable wealth and political strength.
On 19 December 2025, Wirat resigned from his Minburi councilor position to run as the 28th candidate on the party-list for the general election in 2026 but was not elected. As Bangkok residents prepare to elect their metropolitan councilors again on 28 June, Wirat has decided to return to local politics under the "Pheu Thai Life Stable" group.