From rural schoolteacher to House Speaker: The rise of Sophon Saram
From teacher and veteran politician to Parliament’s top chair, Sophon Saram’s rise reflects decades of political experience and influence within Bhumjaithai.
- Sophon Saram, a Bhumjaithai Party MP from Buriram, was elected as the new House Speaker after receiving 289 votes, defeating his opponent from the People's Party.
- A former teacher, his extensive political career includes serving as Minister of Transport, Deputy Prime Minister, and chairman of several parliamentary committees.
- He comes from a political family and is the president of the Anattaphon Saram Foundation, a charity he established to help society in memory of his late son.
- As Speaker, his stated vision is to make the House proactive in overhauling outdated laws, effectively overseeing the executive, and restoring public faith in the legislature.
Following the royal ceremony to open Parliament on March 14, the House of Representatives on March 15, 2026, convened for the 27th House, first year, first extraordinary session of the year.
The key agenda was the election of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the First Deputy Speaker and the Second Deputy Speaker, with Pairoj Lohsuntorn, a 90-year-old party-list MP from the Pheu Thai Party and the most senior MP in the House, serving as temporary presiding officer.
During that key agenda, two names were proposed for a vote to elect the House Speaker: Sophon Saram, a Bhumjaithai Party MP, and Parit Wacharasindhu, a People's Party MP.
The meeting then had the 497 members present, out of a total of 498 MPs, cast secret ballots.
The results of the vote for the House Speaker at the first meeting of the 27th House of Representatives, first year, first session (first ordinary annual session), showed that Sophon Saram, Buriram MP No. 1, received 289 votes, while Parit, the People's Party candidate No. 2, received 123 votes.
There were 80 abstentions and five invalid ballots.
As the result was more than half of the quorum, or more than 238 votes, Sophon won the approval of the House and became the latest Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Profile of Sophon Saram
Sophon was born on March 31, 1959, in Ban Nong Kao Kha, Mueang Faek subdistrict, Lam Plai Mat district, Buriram.
He is the son of Kamnan Sanan Saram.
He has one elder brother, Sombun Saram, a former Buriram MP from the Bhumjaithai Party.
Sophon is married to Ariyaphorn Saram, mayor of Lam Plai Mat municipality.
They have three children, one of whom was Anattaphon Saram, a former member of the Buriram Provincial Administrative Organisation Council.
He was only 30 years old at the time.
Following that loss, the family established the Anattaphon Saram (Luk Toeng) Foundation to help society, with Sophon serving as president of the foundation.
Education
He graduated with a Bachelor of Education in elementary education from Buriram Teachers College.
Political career
Before entering politics, Sophon worked as a teacher.
He later decided to contest an election and was elected as a Buriram MP under the Chart Thai Party in 2001.
He then moved to the Thai Rak Thai Party in the 2005 election and to the People Power Party in the 2007 election. Sophon, a close associate of Newin Chidchob, later moved to the Bhumjaithai Party.
Sophon was appointed Deputy Minister of Transport in the government of Somchai Wongsawat and later Minister of Transport in the government of Abhisit Vejjajiva.
He also served as chairman of the Transport Committee during the government of General Prayut Chan-o-cha, and in the government of Srettha Thavisin, he served as chairman of the Education Committee.
In 2010, Sophon was one of the ministers subjected to a no-confidence debate over the Purple Line rail project (Bang Sue-Bang Yai), worth 36.055 billion baht.
The opposition raised questions over the fact that the project had been reduced to only one scheme while retaining the same budget, and allegedly benefited two private firms, causing the state to lose more than 6 billion baht.
The result of the vote was that Sophon received 234 votes of confidence and 196 votes of no confidence, allowing him to survive the parliamentary consideration.
After stepping away from politics for a period and taking on a role in promoting the activities of the Anattaphon Saram Foundation at the community level, Sophon returned to public attention after being appointed Deputy Prime Minister in the government of Anutin Charnvirakul on September 19, 2025.
In the 2026 election, after the Bhumjaithai Party won 193 seats and became the core party in forming the government, the party, on March 12, 2026, resolved to nominate Sophon as its candidate for Speaker of the House of Representatives, while also nominating Miss Mallika Jirapunvanit as candidate for First Deputy Speaker.
Vision of Sophon Saram
In one part of his vision statement to the House, Sophon said that the House of Representatives, as the legislative branch, in addition to having powers and duties as provided in the Constitution, has the duty to bring the hardships and problems of the people to be conveyed through parliamentary mechanisms, whether consultation, questions or motions, so that they can be passed on to the executive for concrete action.
Oversight of the executive must also be carried out with quality, balance and reason, with the interests of the people as the guiding principle, especially at a time when the country and the world are facing crises, whether economic, social, political or global conflict.
The House of Representatives, or the legislative branch, must be an important mechanism in leading the country through those crises.
That means using legislative power to overhaul old laws that are outdated, impractical or obstacles to the lives of the people.
At the same time, it must enact new and modern laws to keep pace with changes in the world, including in trade, foreign affairs and society, so that those laws can serve as tools for the executive to administer the country quickly and effectively.
“I would like to see this House of Representatives become the body that sets the direction and the tools for administering the country, rather than simply waiting to receive laws from the executive alone. Above all, I would like to see this House work together for the common good and stop using Parliament as a stage for ‘rhetoric’ to outdo one another without creating any benefit, to restore faith and dignity to the legislative institution and make it a true source of reliance and hope for the people. I pledge to work with fairness for the nation, religion, the monarchy and the people, and to uphold the democratic system with the King as Head of State,” Sophon said.
Duties of the President of Parliament
The Speaker is the highest leadership position in Thailand’s legislative branch.
The office-holder is elected by the House of Representatives and appointed by the King as Speaker of the House of Representatives, in order to oversee and manage each sitting as effectively as possible.
The Speaker must remain politically neutral.
The main duties under the 2020 parliamentary meeting regulations are as follows:
- To preside over parliamentary meetings and remain impartial in the discharge of duties.
- To determine the parliamentary meeting schedule.
- To supervise and conduct parliamentary business.
- To maintain order in parliamentary meetings as well as throughout the parliamentary precinct.
- To represent Parliament in external affairs.
- To appoint committees to carry out tasks beneficial to parliamentary affairs.
- To perform other duties and exercise other powers as provided by law or stipulated in the rules.
