Tanwarin Sukkhapisit

Thai politician
  • Filmmaker
  • politician

Tanwarin Sukkhapisit (Thai: ธัญญ์วาริน สุขะพิสิษฐ์, RTGS: Thanwarin Sukkhaphisit, Thai pronunciation: [tʰān.wāː.rīn sùk.kʰà.pʰí.sìt]) is a Thai filmmaker and politician. In the 2019 Thai general election, they were elected to the Thai parliament representing the Future Forward Party. Tanwarin is a kathoey, and became the first ever openly transgender member of parliament in Thailand's House of Representatives.[2][3][4][5][6]

Biography

Tanwarin was born October 23, 1973, in the Nakhon Ratchasima Province. They graduated from Khon Kaen University. After working as an English teacher, Tanwarin entered the entertainment industry as a writer and director.

Removal from office

In October 2020, the Constitutional Court of Thailand removed Tanwarin from power, finding them guilty of rules barring lawmakers from owning stock in media companies.[7] Tanwarin's removal has been tied to a broader crackdown on Thailand's pro-democracy movement,[8] with one commentator in the Bangkok Post writing that they were "unjustly removed" in a "huge blow to the Thai LGBTI community".[9]

References

  1. ^ "Constitutional Court disqualifies Move Forward Party MP over media shares". Prachatai English. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  2. ^ Yee, Tan Hui (Mar 30, 2019). "I am intelligent, capable, and a katoey: Thailand's first transgender MP". The Straits Times.
  3. ^ Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (April 8, 2019). "'I am not here to entertain': meet Thailand's first transgender MP". The Guardian. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
  4. ^ Chandran, Rina (2019-04-17). "From movies to marriage, first Thai transgender MP wants change". Reuters. Thomson Reuters Foundation. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
  5. ^ Lotto Perslo, Sofia (2019-03-25). "Thailand elects first transgender MP Tanwarin Sukkhapisit". www.pinknews.co.uk.
  6. ^ Boonlert, Thana (2019-04-01). "The LGBT advocate set to be an MP". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  7. ^ Thanthong-Knight, Randy (October 28, 2020). "Thai Court Disqualifies Opposition Lawmaker in Media Shares Case". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on November 5, 2020.
  8. ^ "Thailand's first transgender MP dismissed from parliament". AFP via The Straits Times. October 28, 2020.
  9. ^ Mahavongtrakul, Melalin (November 30, 2020). "Light flickers in US, fades in Thailand". Bangkok Post.

External links

  • Tanwarin Sukkhapisit at IMDb
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