Who is Thailand’s youngest Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra?

“The country has to move ahead,” Paetongtarn told reporters after winning the nomination.

Born in Bangkok, Paetongtarn is a premier shareholder of SC Asset Corporation and a director of the Thaicom Foundation. She graduated from Chulalongkorn University with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, Sociology, and Anthropology in 2008, as mentioned in her profile on Thaicom Foundation’s official site. She later earned a master’s degree in International Hotel Management from the University of Surrey in England.

Paetongtarn in politics

Thaksin’s youngest child has had a short political trajectory. Paetongtarn entered politics in 2022, being elected as ‘Head of the Pheu Thai Family’ which made her a leading prime minister-candidate for the Pheu Thai Party.

“When I was eight-years-old, my father entered politics. Since that day, my life has also been intertwined with politics,” she said at a speech in March.

In April 2023, she was formally nominated as one of the three prime minister candidates, along with Srettha Thavisin — the 30th Prime Minister of Thailand, and Chaikasem Nitisiri — the Minister of Justice in her aunt’s cabinet. The brief political journey leaves Paetongtarn with limited to no administrative experience with an elected government position she has never held before. Previously she has been remarked to be inexperienced as she received backlash when she criticised the Bank of Thailand’s independence as an “obstacle” to resolving economic problems

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University said “She will be under scrutiny. She will be under a lot of pressure…She will have to rely on her father.” Reuters reported.

‘Thaksinomics’: Shinawatra in Thai politics

The dynasty began over two decades ago when a former police officer turned telecommunications supremo became the Prime Minister of the Southeast Asian country, Thaksin Shinawatra. He served from 2001 to 2006 before being ousted in a military coup which led to his self-imposed exile. However, his hold in politics prevailed through his sister who held the position starting in 2011. The government was yet again toppled by a military coup in 2014.

The position for Paetongtarn comes in the wake of political uncertainty as the Pheu Thai party has formed an alliance with the military to secure the premiership. Paetongtarn will also seek to break the recurring theme of Shinawatra governments being toppled by the military.

The Shinawatra dynasty’s rise is emblematic of a broader trend in Southeast Asia, where political dynasties are consolidating power in countries like the Marcoses and Aquinos families in Philippines, Gibran Rakabuming Raka’s succession in Indonesia, and Hun Manet’s ascension in Cambodia.