The Parliament of Thailand elected the third prime minister on Friday in two years
The Parliament of Thailand elected conservative Anutin Charnvirakul on Friday as the new Prime Minister, the third in two years, a week after the dismissal of Paetongtarn Shinawatra for criticism of the army in the conflict with Cambodia.
The leader of the Bhumjaithai training exceeded the 247 votes necessary, in a chamber composed of 492 deputies, thanks to the support of the Reformist People’s Party (PP), the one with the highest parliamentary representation, according to the Spanish news agency EFE.
Former interior and health minister, Anutin Charnvirakul becomes the 32nd Prime Minister of Thailand, almost three months after abandoning the coalition government led by Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
The now former minister was deprived due to the release of a conversation in which he criticized a Thai army general for the management of the territorial dispute with Cambodia, who degenerated in an armed conflict in July.
The government tried to postpone this Friday’s vote to dissolve Parliament, but the request was rejected by the deputies and the election was held late in the afternoon (local time).
Neither Paetongtarn Shinawatra nor the closest employees of the executive were seen at the voting session.
The PP offered support to Anutin Charnvirakul with a commitment to convene new elections within four months, during which time the reformist formation will remain in opposition, party sources told EFE.
Hours earlier, it was confirmed that influential billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra, Paetongtarn’s father and prime minister between 2001 and 2006, had left the country, where he has a court hearing next week.
Thaksin left by surprise to Dubai, where he lived during the self -posted exile from 2008.
The trip occurred days before a court decision on the return to Thailand in 2023, which could lead to a new prison sentence.
The news of the trip generated speculation that he was fleeing again, although he said he was only going to do medical examinations and would return to Thailand in a few days.
The new 58-year-old Prime Minister is known to have made Lóbi for the decriminalization of cannabis use for medical purposes, which is now being regulated, the Associated Press (AP) news agency (AP) said.
Saxophonist, amateur pilot and heir to a fortune, Anutin Charnvirakul knew how to maneuver himself as a key personality in the successive Thailand governments over the last few years until he was appointed Prime Minister.
Like the predecessor, a member of a family with considerable influence in Thailand two decades ago, Anutin Charnvirakul has also been part of a dynasty of political and economic elites, said France-Presse (AFP) news agency.
The father was an interim prime minister during the 2008 political crisis and later interior minister for three years.
The family made a fortune in a construction company, which guaranteed profitable public contracts for decades.
The company built, among other infrastructures, the main Bangkok airport and the parliament building, where Anutin Charnvirakul was now appointed Prime Minister.
After studying industrial engineering in New York, he entered politics in the early thirties as an advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
True political chameleon, later became Minister of Health, Interior Minister and, between 2019 and 2025, vice-minister of three heads of government, rare stability in the kingdom, whose political life is quite agitated.
Nicknamed “Noo”, which means “rat” in Thai, Anutin Charnvirakul seeks to build an image of man of the people, despite the fortune.
On social networks, it is shown to cook dressed in shorts and t-shirt, or to interpret hits from the Thai pop music to the saxophone and the piano, according to AFP.
