Her selection comes just two days after former Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin was dismissed by the constitutional court. Both leaders are members of the Pheu Thai Party, which, despite coming in second place in the 2023 elections, managed to form a ruling coalition. Paetongtarn received 319 endorsement votes against 145 opposing votes in the parliamentary session on Friday.
Paetongtarn is the fourth member of the Shinawatra family to ascend to Thailand’s highest office in the past two decades. Her predecessors, including her father Thaksin and her aunt Yingluck, were all ousted by military coups or court rulings. Her father, Thaksin, was first elected in 2001 but was deposed during his second term by a military coup in 2006. After spending 15 years in exile, Thaksin returned to Thailand in October last year under a political deal with his former conservative adversaries, who are now in coalition with Pheu Thai.
