Ms. Paetongtarn in a statement to the media in Bangkok
Reuters reported on October 27 that the Pheu Thai Party announced its new leader as Ms. Paetongtarn Shinawatra (37 years old), daughter of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Ms Paetongtarn was among the candidates for prime minister in the May election, although another candidate, Mr Srettha Thavisin, was later chosen by parliament to serve as prime minister.
The Forward Party won a majority of seats but its attempt to form a government was blocked in the Senate. The Pheu Thai Party then entered into a coalition with military-backed conservative parties.
The previous leader of the Pheu Thai party, Chonlanan Srikaew, resigned for failing to keep a pledge that Pheu Thai would not form a government with any party aligned with the military, according to AP.
Ms Paetongtarn thanked party members for their support and pledged to build on past successes, aiming to return Pheu Thai to the top position of public support.
"Pheu Thai will continue its important mission of improving people's livelihoods. We will look up to the stars with our feet firmly on the ground and stand firmly beside the people," she told hundreds of people at the party headquarters in Bangkok after becoming party leader.
Ms Paetongtarn, a former businesswoman with a degree in hotel management from the University of Surrey in England, credits her father for her political upbringing and inspiration. Mr Thaksin’s younger sister Yingluck Shinawatra was also prime minister.
Mr Thaksin returned to Thailand in August, the same day that his Pheu Thai party won support from former opposition parties to form a government. Mr Thaksin had been in exile for 15 years to avoid corruption convictions after he was ousted in 2006.
In September, he had his eight-year sentence reduced to one year by King Maha Vajiralongkorn and is currently serving his sentence but is in hospital for treatment, after falling ill on his first night in prison.
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