Paetongtarn Shinawatra: The 37-year-old political heir set to become Thailand’s prime minister (2024)

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A day after Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin was dismissed by the Constitutional Court, the Southeast Asian nation’s populist Pheu Thai party and its coalition partners have announced that they have chosen 37-year-old Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of billionaire ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra, as its candidate for prime minister.

“We decide to nominate Paetongtarn Shinawatra,” party secretary general Sorawong Thienthong told a press conference in Bangkok.

Now, lawmakers will vote on Friday (August 16) in parliament — where Pheu Thai heads a governing coalition — on whether to approvePaetongtarn as prime minister.

As she prepares to become the next Thai PM, here’s all we know about the 37-year-old and her rise in politics.

A political scion

The 37-year-old is the third child of former Prime MinisterThaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup. She grew up in Bangkok, attending private schools in the centre of the city. She was exposed to politics from a young age, and would follow her father around when he became foreign minister. As Thai political scientist Thitinan Pongsudhirak from Chulalongkorn University told CNN: “She was very prominent and was often seen with him.”

She later went to the United Kingdom to get a master’s degree in international hotel management at the University of Surrey. Later, she worked for the family business.

In 2019, she married commercial pilot Pidok Sooksawas and the couple have two children.

With her party, the Pheu Thai, nominating her for the prime ministerial post, Paetongtarn will be the fourth member of the Shinawatra family to become prime minister. Thaksin’s brother-in-law Somchai Wongsawat was prime minister briefly during 2008, and his sister Yingluck Shinawatra was prime minister from 2011 until 2014. Both were forced from office by court rulings.

Worthy political candidate

In last year’s May election, Paetongtarn was one of the three prime ministerial candidates from the Pheu Thai party, along with tycoonSrettha Thavisin and former justice minister Chaikasem Nitisiri.

Before the elections, many had given Paetongtarn an edge over her rivals to become Thailand’s youngest prime minister. A pre-election opinion poll conducted by the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) showed she was the most popular choice for prime minister, getting “more than double the support” of her opponents – the incumbent Prayuth and Forward Party’s Pita Limjaroenrat, as per a CNN report in April.

At the time, political observers had noted that her hard work while she was pregnant drew a great deal of public admiration and sympathy for her.

Thaksin has endorsed his daughter’s political skills and said that she would make a good prime minister, but has played down suggestions that he still pulls the strings.

“I have seen her dedicate herself to the party… and she has done a good job even though she is pregnant,” he was quoted as telling CNN of his daughter in March 2023.

“Now that she is (older), she decides for herself… I don’t control her. She’s got her mother’s DNA and has (characteristics) I don’t have so if she does become prime minister, she would do better than me,” he added.

Paetongtarn’s rise to the top

Paetongtarn’s nomination for prime minister comes a day afterSrettha Thavisin was ousted on Wednesday (August 14), less than a year in office. The Constitutional Court found him guilty of a serious ethical breach regarding his appointment of a Cabinet member who was jailed in connection with an alleged bribery attempt.

For Paetongtarn to finally be declared Thailand’s prime minister, she needs just a majority from the lower house, or at least 247 votes. Notably, the Pheu Thai and its allies hold 314 seats in the houses, of which 141 belong to Pheu Thai. Providing the alliance stays intact, Paetongtarn should face no difficulty in being named as prime minister.

On Friday, if she succeeds in the vote in parliament, Paetongtarn will become Thailand’s second female prime minister and the youngest.

With inputs from agencies

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