After the resignation of Srettha Thavisin from the prime minister post, Paetongtarn Shinawatra became the new youngest prime minister of Thailand.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra is a Thai Politician and Businesswoman. She was born on 21st August 1986. She belongs to a strong political background as she is the daughter of the former prime minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra (2001 – 2006). She is also the niece of former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra (2011 – 2014).
After a long tussle, she has taken charge of the office on 16th August 2024. She has not only a politically strong background but a billionaire also. Paetongtarn Shinawatra is the largest stakeholder of SC Asset Corporation of Thailand.
SC Asset Corporation is a real estate company headquartered in Bangkok. As per the data available on its website, Shinawatra has 1,216,149,870 shares alone. In total Shinawatra family holds 2,524,175,252 shares in the company.
She is also the director of the Thaicom Foundation which works on the mental well-being of the people. As per the Thaicom website, 80.6% of city people are suffering from mental health problems and almost half 48.9% of rural residents are likely to have them.
They have also mentioned that almost 1.5 million Thais aged 15 and over are suffering from mental health problems such as depression, high stress, anxiety, and burnout. As Paetongtarn Shinawatra is the director of this foundation, she might be more focused on the mental well-being of the Thai people.
In total, she holds 22 companies in Thailand and worldwide whose total value is 2 billion US Dollars as per the data available.
She calls herself a socially liberal capitalist and also supports LGBTQ rights. She is also strict on drug control and crime. We might see major changes in the economy, as she said at her party Pheu Thai headquarters this year in May “The legal framework that ensures the Bank of Thailand (BoT) operates independently from the government poses a challenge and is a major hindrance in addressing economic issues”.
Although she has a strong political background her journey to the prime minister was not easy. She was also campaigning in the last election while she was pregnant but at that time Pheu Thai party faced its first time defeat in the last 20 years. She also worked in a McDonald’s restaurant just to hide her identity and live like common when her father Thaksin Shinawatra was the prime minister.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra Personal Life
The nickname of Paetongtarn Shinawatra is Ung Ing. Her husband Pitaka Suksawat is a board member of Thaicom Foundation where she holds the position of director. She is a mother of two, a daughter, Thitara Suksawat who was born on 10th January 2021, and a son, Phrutthasin Suksawat, who was born on 1st May 2023.
Her term will not be easy as she has to maintain the reputation of the Shinawatra family and there is also a major economic problem going on in Thailand on which she has to work to prove herself.
Thailand King Vajiralongkorn gave his endorsement to Paetongtarn Shinawatra as prime minister on Sunday, two days after she was elected by parliament. In Thailand, the supreme commander is the king, he has the power to stop implementing any new law passed in the parliament.
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She is the motivation for others who want to start their journey in politics at a young age. At 37 she became the prime minister so she had the opportunity to serve her country for many years as her major focus on the mental well-being of the Thai people and the country’s economy, Thailand might see new heights in the upcoming years.