Who is Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thailand’s new Prime Minister?
Paetongtarn Shinawatra has become Thailand’s prime minister after receiving a royal endorsement letter on August 18. She is also the country’s youngest premier and the third Shinawatra to hold the position.
Shinawatra, 37, will head Thailand’s government, barely two years after she entered politics. She is also Pheu Thai Party’s leader since 2023. She replaces Srettha Thavisin from the same Pheu Thai Party as the head of a coalition that includes military parties associated with the coup that deposed the party’s last government.
Shinawatra is the third daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra, a policeman turned telecoms tycoon who revolutionised Thai politics in the early 2000s. He won two elections before he was ousted in a coup in 2006. Her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra was the PM from 2011 to 2014. Her tenure also ended due to a coup.
She hit the campaign trail hard for last year’s election but got mixed results. Her party finished second, for the first time ever. But, Pheu Thai formed an alliance with pro-military parties to form the government.
Shinawatra’s youth and energy stand out in Thailand’s politics, but, she has several challenges to overcome. Observers believe she will have to work hard to avoid being seen as too much under her father’s influence. She would have to revitalise the economy that has struggled to bounce back since the Covid-19 pandemic.