Shinawatra Appointed as Thailand’s Youngest-Ever PM

AFP/APP

Bangkok: The Thai king on Sunday formally appointed Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the 37-year-old daughter of controversial billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, as Thailand’s new prime minister.

Paetongtarn, the kingdom’s youngest-ever PM, assumes office following the sacking of the previous premier by a court and the disbandment of the main opposition party, plunging Thailand’s already turbulent political landscape into further turmoil.

She becomes the third member of the Shinawatra family to serve as prime minister, following in the footsteps of her father Thaksin and her aunt Yingluck, both of whom were ousted from power in military coups. However, Paetongtarn hopes to avoid their fate.

During a ceremony at the headquarters of a former pro-Thaksin TV station, Paetongtarn received King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s official written command to form a government at around 9:30 am (0230 GMT).

In her address after the ceremony, she urged all Thais to work together to revitalize the country’s sluggish economy, which has struggled to recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“As head of the government, I will work with parliament with an open heart, open to all ideas to help develop the country,” she said. “Fellow Thais, this duty cannot be done by the prime minister alone. I hope I will be able to coordinate the power of all generations, all talented people in Thailand—from the cabinet, the coalition, civil servants, private sector, and the people.”

Thaksin, 75, was a prominent attendee at the ceremony, standing alongside Paetongtarn’s husband in the front row.

“She has to work hard. Her strong point is that she is young, she can ask anyone for help—she is humble,” Thaksin told reporters after the ceremony. “Twenty-three years ago she was standing behind my back but today I was standing behind her.”

Paetongtarn leads a coalition government headed by her Pheu Thai party—the latest incarnation of the political movement founded by her father in the early 2000s—alongside some pro-military groups long opposed to Thaksin.

Her elevation to the top job follows the kingdom’s Constitutional Court’s decision on Wednesday to sack the previous premier, Srettha Thavisin, for breaching ethics rules by appointing a cabinet minister with a criminal conviction.

For more than 20 years, Thailand has been dominated by a power struggle between Thaksin and his allies and the kingdom’s conservative pro-military, pro-royalist elite. Parties linked to the former telecoms tycoon and one-time Manchester City owner have repeatedly won elections, only to see their governments toppled by coups and court rulings.

Paetongtarn, a relative newcomer to politics, was managing the hotel arm of the family business until late 2022, when she entered politics ahead of last year’s general election, in which Pheu Thai unexpectedly finished second to the upstart progressive Move Forward Party (MFP).