Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit

Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit knew that clawing back power from Thailand’s ruling junta would never be easy. In the end, his Future Forward Party gained 17% of votes in this year’s elections—not bad for a party that is barely a year old. But Thanathorn, the billionaire scion of a car-parts empire, succeeded in re-energizing young Thais, who flocked to his banner of ending the cycle of coups and bloody street protests that has dogged Thailand for more than 80 years. Amid the mounting challenge, the generals responded with a flurry of legal charges, which Thanathorn alleges were politically motivated. He says he’s still focused on building his movement within the legislature, despite the court battle. “The generals still rule; the struggle continues,” he says. “Democratization, demilitarization and decentralization is our call.” —Charlie Campbell