Chai Chidchob factfile
Chai Chidchob, 80, was born in Surin province and completed his high-school education there.
He began his career in politics by being appointed as a kamnan in Buri Ram province and became known by many locals as "Kamnan Chai".
His first experience in national politics began in 1957. Chai contested a seat as a Democrat Party candidate in Surin, but failed to get elected.
In 1969, he ran in Buri Ram as an independent candidate and managed to win. He was then re-elected many times. Chai, who is now a People Power Party MP, was previously affiliated with many political parties, including Samakkhitham, Chart Thai, Solidarity and Thai Rak Thai.
He is married to La-ong and they have five sons and one daughter. One of Chai's sons is Newin Chidchob, a powerful politician in the lower northeastern region who has been stripped of his electoral rights for five years. The PPP nomination of Chai as the House speaker is partly credited to Newin.
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