Jatuporn Buruspat: New commerce minister plots course in global trade storm

After nearly four decades as a bureaucrat, Jatuporn Buruspat has entered politics as commerce minister – responsible for steering Thailand through a global trade storm.

Appointed in the latest Cabinet reshuffle, the 60-year-old enters office after stepping down as the longest-serving permanent secretary at the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, a post he held for five years and 10 months.

He resigned on June 11, three months ahead of his scheduled retirement at the end of September. His decision raised eyebrows, as the Cabinet had extended his tenure in September last year.

However, the call of politics proved too great to resist, and on June 30 Jatuporn was appointed, taking his oath before His Majesty the King three days later alongside 13 other new Cabinet members.

The reshuffle was triggered by the Bhumjaithai Party's abrupt withdrawal from the ruling coalition. One day after his appointment, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended by the Constitutional Court over alleged ethical violations stemming from a leaked call with Cambodia’s Hun Sen.

Urgent missions from day one

Jatuporn replaces the ruling Pheu Thai’s Pichai Naripthaphan, who was targeted after party colleagues complained he had failed to shore up key crop prices.

The new minister got to work almost immediately, heading to the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat to meet with mangosteen farmers on Friday (July 4). He informed them he had devised a way to boost the fruit's falling price amid oversupply.

The following day, he travelled to the Northeast to inaugurate the Nong Khai Border Trade Fair – a key initiative aimed at boosting cross-border commerce with Laos and other neighbouring nations.

Jatuporn officially reported for duty at the Commerce Ministry on Monday (July 7). He was greeted by his two deputies – veteran politician Suchart Chomklin and newcomer Chantawit Thantasith – along with a contingent of senior civil servants.

In his first remarks, he prioritised urgent trade negotiations with the US and maintaining prices stability at home.

“The issue is not only rising prices but also purchasing power,” he told reporters. “We need to take a proactive approach to reducing living expenses, increasing income and keeping product prices fair.”

Jatuporn does not hold party membership, sparking questions about how he secured a ministership. Some say he was backed by financiers behind the embattled United Thai Nation Party (UTN), while others suggest he is supported by the fledgling New Opportunity Party.

The latter was reportedly created as a safe haven for around 20 UTN MPs led by Suchart and threatened with being expelled. Ahead of his political debut, rumours erupted that Jatuporn would be tapped to lead the new party – speculation he has neither confirmed nor denied.

Life in public service

Born on November 3, 1964, in Chiang Mai, Jatuporn earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science from Chulalongkorn University, followed by a second master’s in forest resource and environmental management from Kasetsart University.

He began his civil service career in 1987 at the Interior Ministry’s Department of Provincial Administration. In 2002, aged 38, he joined the newly formed Natural Resources and Environment Ministry as deputy director-general of the Department of Environmental Quality Promotion.

He steadily climbed the ranks over the next two decades, becoming director-general of several key departments, including the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources from 2017 to 2019, before taking the ministry’s top post in October 2019.

Jatuporn has declared total assets of 68.9 million baht, with no liabilities, according to the National Anti-Corruption Commission. His assets include 27.9 million baht in bank deposits, 20.5 million in property, two cars valued at 4.7 million baht, land in Nakhon Ratchasima worth 1 million baht and 300,000 baht in cash.

His wife, Jantima Buruspat, declared assets of 40 million baht, including real estate valued at 14.6 million, stock investments worth 8.4 million, 4.4 million in bank deposits, two cars worth 2.1 million and 200,000 baht in cash.