Thaksin's daughter becomes new Prime Minister of Thailand

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, won a crucial vote in Thailand's House of Representatives on August 16 to become the Southeast Asian nation's new Prime Minister .

The victory makes Ms. Paetongtarn, 38, whose father and aunt were prime ministers, the youngest leader in the history of Thailand's constitutional monarchy. She is also the country's second female prime minister, after her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra.

In a vote in the 500-member Thai House of Representatives on August 16, Ms. Paetongtarn won the support of at least 251 lawmakers, slightly more than the required 247 votes from the body's 493 incumbent members.

Earlier, Ms. Paetongtarn's nomination for the position of Prime Minister of Thailand was approved by an 11-member coalition led by the Pheu Thai Party. In total, this coalition has more than 300 lawmakers in the Thai House of Representatives.

Paetongtarn's election capped turmoil after the court ousted her predecessor and dissolved the leading opposition party.

Pheu Thai Party leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra attends a press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, on August 15, 2024. Her victory in the House of Representatives vote on August 16, 2024 made Paetongtarn the youngest prime minister in the history of Thailand's constitutional monarchy. Photo: Xinhua

On August 14, the Thai Constitutional Court ruled to remove Mr. Srettha Thavisin from his position as head of the government in Bangkok because Mr. Srettha appointed a cabinet minister with a criminal record.

On August 15, the Pheu Thai Party selected Ms. Paetongtarn as its main candidate for the vacant post. None of the 10 other parties in the coalition it leads has put forward a replacement candidate.

Ms Paetongtarn, known in Thailand by her nickname Ung Ing, is Mr Thaksin’s youngest child. She grew up in Bangkok and studied hotel management in Britain, before marrying a commercial pilot. The couple now have two children.

Ms. Paetongtarn helped run the hotel division of the Shinawatra family's business empire before entering politics in late 2022. She has been a near-constant presence on the campaign trail in the 2023 general election.

That vote saw the upstart progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) win the most votes, but pro-military members of the Senate blocked the MFP's attempt to form a government.

The Pheu Thai Party then had the opportunity to form an alliance with pro-military parties that had been staunchly opposed to Mr. Thaksin and his followers, leading to Mr. Srettha winning the Thai prime ministership in August last year.

Less than a year later, Mr. Srettha became the third Prime Minister of Pheu Thai to be dismissed by the Thai Constitutional Court.

Last week, the court also voted to dissolve the MFP and ban its executive board members from politics for 10 years, although the party quickly re-established itself under the new name of the People's Party.

Minh Duc (According to Bloomberg, Yahoo!News)

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/con-gai-ong-thaksin-tro-thanh-tan-thu-tuong-thai-lan-204240816125512402.htm