Paetongtarn Shinawatra elected as Thailand’s Youngest PM
The Pheu Thai Party chose Paetongtarn as their candidate after none of the 10 coalition parties proposed an alternative.
KATHMANDU: Thailand’s Parliament elected 37-year-old Paetongtarn Shinawatra as Prime Minister on Friday.
The Pheu Thai Party chose Paetongtarn as their candidate after none of the 10 coalition parties proposed an alternative.
The Pheu Thai Party presented Paetongtarn, a member of the influential Shinawatra family, for parliamentary approval.
She becomes the third member of the Shinawatra family to serve as Prime Minister, following her father, Thaksin Shinawatra, and her aunt, Yingluck Shinawatra. Paetongtarn is now the youngest leader in Thailand’s constitutional monarchy history.
Her predecessor, outgoing Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, was removed from office after being found guilty by the Constitutional Court of appointing a minister facing criminal charges.
Paetongtarn is the second female Prime Minister in Thailand’s history. Her rise to power comes after a prolonged period of tension between the military, royalist parties, and populist parties associated with her father, Thaksin, a former Prime Minister and one-time owner of Manchester City Football Club.
The Bhumjaithai Party, the third-largest in Parliament, agreed to support Pheu Thai’s candidate in Friday’s vote. Before entering politics at the end of 2022, Paetongtarn managed hotel businesses and was actively involved in the 2023 general election campaign.
