BANGKOK - Thailand’s new prime minister is a scion of the country’s influential Shinawatra clan and the youngest person to assume the post, as she looks to bring stability after her predecessor was ousted by a court citing ethics violations. Ms Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 37, is the second woman to serve as Thailand’s prime minister and she follows two former prime ministers from her family. Former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, her billionaire father who was in the post from 2001 to 2006 before being pushed out in a military coup, returned to Thailand from 15 years of self-imposed exile last year and is expected now to play a bigger role in Thai politics.
Some of her top tasks will be to ease the concerns of voters about the high costs of living and foreign investors worried about Thailand’s turbulent politics. Here’s what you need to know about her. Known by her nickname Ing, she is the youngest daughter of Mr Thaksin Shinawatra, the patriarch of the political dynasty that has dominated most Thai elections since the turn of the century.
Ms Paetongtarn studied political science at Thailand’s prestigious Chulalongkorn University and later received a master’s degree in international hotel management from University of Surrey in the UK. At 17, she made headlines when she worked a part-time job at McDonald’s and her father dropped in. She is married to Mr Pidok Sooksawas, a commercial pilot.
The couple have two children, including a baby boy that Ms Paetongtarn gave bir.