Thailand’s parliament has elected Paye Thongtan Shinawatra, the billionaire tycoon and daughter of former leader Thaksin, as prime minister.
At 37, she will become the country’s youngest prime minister and only the second female prime minister, after her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra.
Her election comes just two days after former Prime Minister Sreta Thavisin was sacked by the Constitutional Court. Both are from the Pheu Thai Party, which came in second in the 2023 election but formed the ruling coalition.
Ms. Paethongthan faces the difficult task of reviving Thailand’s flagging economy and avoiding military coups and court intervention that toppled four previous administrations led by her party.
“I want to give people confidence that we can create opportunities, improve the quality of life and empower all Thais,” Ms Paetongtarn told reporters after voting on Friday.
She was visibly overwhelmed, her hands shaking with excitement.
She admitted that she was “not the best, not the most talented.”
“But I always think I have a strong will and a good team… My team is strong, experienced, determined and we share the same mindset. That’s something I value very much,” she said.
Ms Paethongtan, who received 319 votes in favor and 145 against, is the fourth member of the Shinawatra family to become prime minister in the past 20 years.
The other three, including her father Thaksin and aunt Yingluck, were ousted by military coups or Constitutional Court rulings.
The same court ruled on Wednesday that Mr Tabisin had been sacked for appointing a former lawyer who had once been jailed to his cabinet.
On Friday, Ms Paetongtarn said she was “shocked” and “very sad” to hear of Mr Srettha’s dismissal.
She said after talking to him and her family, she decided “it was time to do something for the party and the country”.
She said Mr Thaksin had called her to encourage her to “do her best” and that he was glad to see her still going to work in her old age.
She was educated at prestigious schools in Thailand and universities in the UK, and worked for several years at the Rende Hotel Group, owned by the Shinawatra family, where her husband serves as Vice President.
She joined the Pheu Thai Party in 2021 and was appointed party leader in October 2023.
The appointment of Ms Paetongtarn brings fresh energy to Thailand’s top leadership. Pheu Thai members may also be hoping she can help revive the party’s political fortunes.
Mr Thaksin first became prime minister in 2001, but his second term ended abruptly when his government was overthrown in a military coup in 2006. Returning to Thailand after 15 years in exile It was in October last year, just hours before Mr. Sreta was elected prime minister.
He was allowed to return home as part of a major deal with former conservative foes who have now formed a coalition with Pheu Thai.
In June he Charged with insulting the monarchyHe is the most high-profile person to have been charged under Thailand’s notorious lese majeste law, which has been used against political dissidents.
Wednesday’s ruling to sack Mr Sretha was widely interpreted as a warning to Mr Thaksin, who still controls Pheu Thai, to curb his ambitions.
Mr. Thaksin’s sister, Yingluck, won a landslide victory in the 2011 election, but she too was later disqualified by a court and her government was overthrown in a second coup. She now lives in exile.
Ms Paetongtarn led Pheu Thai’s campaign in last year’s election, when she was in the final stages of pregnancy, which won her many supporters.
“I think after eight years, people want better politics, a better solution for the country than a coup,” she told the BBC at the time. “They’re looking for policies that will help them in their lives.”
The Move Forward party, which won the election, was unable to form a government because of the military-appointed Senate, opening the way for a coalition government led by Pheu Thai with Mr Sretha as prime minister.
Earlier this month Advancement of the Constitutional Court Dissolution And it banned 11 leaders from political activities for 10 years.
