Who Is Paetongtarn Shinawatra? Thailand's Youngest PM And First Female Leader In 10 Years

With the royal decree today, Paetongtarn Shinawatra has officially taken over as the new Thai PM. The Pheu Thai Party leader is officially the third Shinawatra to take over as PM and the first female Thai PM in 10 years.

Shinawatra received the letter of appointment during a ceremony at the party's headquarters in Bangkok.

She took over as the Prime Minister of Thailand days after the Constitutional Court removed Srettha Thavisin as the leader for violating the constitution and the ethics law.

Who Is Paetongtarn Shinawatra?

Paetongtarn Shinawatra is a member of the Shinawatra political family. Born in 1986, she is now the youngest prime minister and the second female politician to hold the office of PM.

Paetongtarn is the third Shinawatra to become the Thai prime minister. Her father, Thaksin Shinawatra and aunt Yingluck Shinawatra, served as former prime ministers from 2001 to 2006 and from 2011 to 2014, respectively. However, both her father and aunt were removed from office and forced into exile.

Shinawatra, also known as Ung Ing, graduated with a bachelor's degree in Political Science, Sociology, and Anthropology from the Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University in 2008. She then continued her studies in England and earned an MSc degree in International Hotel Management from the University of Surrey.

Following her appointment as the prime minister, Shinawatra thanked the Thai King, the people and lawmakers and stated she will perform her duties “with an open mind".

She added that will work towards making "every square inch of Thailand a space that allows Thai people to dare to dream, dare to create and dare to dictate their own future.”