Pita, who was blocked by the conservative establishment from becoming Thailand’s prime minister last year, said he was inspired by former New Zealand leader Jacinda Ardern in taking up the dual fellowships at the school of public policy and government. He was handed a 10-year ban from politics earlier this month by the Constitutional Court which also dissolved his party.
Popular Thai politician Pita Limjaroenrat is returning to Harvard University, where he will take up a fellowship and share his lessons from a period of political turmoil that saw his party win a general election only to be disbanded a year later.
The 43-year-old former leader of the now-disbanded Move Forward Party will become a Democracy Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, from where he graduated 13 years ago. During the fellowship that’s expected to last two semesters, Pita plans to mentor the next generation of future leaders.
