Paetongtarn Shinawatra becomes Thailand’s new prime minister

The 37-year-old Pheu Thai politician thus becomes Thailand’s youngest prime minister in history, according to Reuters.

It is Thailand’s National Assembly that has given Shinawatra enough votes to take over from Srettha Thavisin, who was deposed by the country’s Constitutional Court earlier this week.

A total of 319 of the people elected voted for her, while 145 voted against and 27 abstained from voting. She needed only 248 to get a majority.

– I feel honored and happy, Shinawatra said after the vote had ended.

– I really hope that I can reassure the people that we can create opportunities and a good quality of life. I hope that I can do my best to lead our country forward, she said, emphasizing that she had a strong and experienced team on the team.

Familiearv

Her father Thaksin is a billionaire and one of Thailand’s most famous politicians. He was deposed in a coup in 2006, and lived several years in exile. He returned to Thailand last August.

When Paetongtarn campaigned in the Thai countryside last year, she spent a lot of time reminding voters of her father’s political legacy, while emphasizing that she is her own person.

– I am not my father’s shadow. I am my father’s daughter, but I make my own choices, she said at the time.

However, the 37-year-old, who was visibly pregnant throughout the election campaign, was unable to convince enough voters that she was the right candidate for prime minister.

Youngest ever

Her Pheu Thai party came only second in the election, but managed to assemble a coalition after the party with the most votes was blocked from taking over the prime ministership by military-backed lawmakers.

Shinawatra is not himself elected to the National Assembly, but that was not a requirement to be appointed prime minister either.

Shinawatra will be only the second woman to occupy the position, after her aunt Yingluck. She will be the third in her family to be Prime Minister of Thailand.