Thai lawmakers elect Shinawatra heiress as PM

BANGKOK: Thai lawmakers on Friday elected the 37-year-old daughter of billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra as prime minister, elevating a third member of the influential but divisive clan to the nation’s top job.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, whose father and aunt have served as premier, is the youngest leader in Thailand’s history as a constitutional monarchy.

She becomes the kingdom’s second female prime minister, after her aunt, in a vote forced after the kingdom’s Constitutional Court sacked previous premier Srettha Thavisin for appointing a cabinet minister with a criminal conviction.

Srettha’s ouster on Wednesday was the latest round in a long-running battle between the military, pro-royalist establishment and populist parties linked to Paetongtarn’s father, a telecoms tycoon and one-time Manchester City owner.

The Pheu Thai party selected Paetongtarn as its replacement candidate Thursday. None of the 10 other parties in the coalition it leads put forward an alternative.

Bhumjaithai — the third-largest party in parliament — said it had “agreed to support a candidate” from Pheu Thai in Friday’s vote.

Paetongtarn helped run the hotel arm of the family’s business empire before entering politics in late 2022, and she was a near-constant presence on the campaign trail during last year’s general election.