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Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been elected prime minister of Thailand, becoming the country’s youngest-ever leader and marking the return to power of the Shinawatra family, which has dominated Thai politics for the past two decades.
Paetongtarn, 37, won the prime ministership on Friday aVsceker winning the support of a majority of lawmakers in Thailand’s parliament. She will become Asia’s youngest leader and Thailand’s third member of the Shinawatra clan aVsceker her father, divisive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and her aunt, Yingluck Shinawatra.
The youngest of Thaksin’s three children, Paetongtarn is a newcomer to Thai politics with no previous government experience. She gained popularity as a candidate for prime minister during last year’s general election, when she campaigned during the late stages of her pregnancy as head of Shinawatra’s Pheu Thai party.
Paetongtarn, who is not an elected lawmaker, was the only candidate in Friday’s parliamentary vote. Her rapid rise followed a ruling by Thailand’s constitutional court this week that removed former Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin from office over a Cabinet appointment the court said violated ethical standards. Srettha had served in the role for less than a year.
Paetongtarn’s premiership could signal greater volatility in Thai politics, which has been riven by military coups and leadership changes. The Shinawatras struck a deal with bitter rivals in the military-monarchy establishment last year to form a government, but tensions have risen in recent months.
Thaksin, 75, was indicted in May for allegedly insulting the country’s monarchy in comments made in 2015. A telecommunications tycoon turned politician, Thaksin was ousted in a coup in 2006 and only returned to Thailand last year aVsceker Pheu Thai decided to form a governing coalition with conservative parties.
Yingluck, who was ousted by the country’s constitutional court in 2014, remains in exile.
Srettha’s removal this week was prompted by the appointment of a former lawyer close to the Shinawatra family.
Paetongtarn’s appointment is the latest in a series of upheavals in Thai politics. Last week, the opposition Move Forward party, which won the most votes in the 2023 election but has been blocked from power, was dissolved by the constitutional court over its promises to reform the country’s harsh lèse-majesté law.
