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Bettongdan elected as ThailandPrime Minister

The day after the Constitutional Court of Thailand ruled that Setha was dismissed from the post of Prime Minister, Pheu Thai Party leader Pathondan received full support from the ruling coalition partners and unanimously nominated her as the new Prime Minister of Thailand. On Friday, August 16, the House of Representatives voted in favor of more than half of the votes to elect the 31st Prime Minister of Thailand. Pathondan became the second female Prime Minister in Thai history and the fourth Prime Minister of the Shinawatra family.

The first and only female prime minister in Thailand's history is Yingluck Shinawatra, who became the 28th Prime Minister of Thailand on August 5, 2011 and served until May 7, 2014. Yingluck is the sister of former Prime Minister Thaksin and the aunt of Bedondan.

On August 16, 2024, the House of Representatives of Thailand voted with more than half of the votes and elected the 31st Prime Minister of Thailand. Patondan became the fourth Prime Minister of the Shinawatra family after his father Thaksin, aunt Yingluck and uncle Somchai. She is also the second female Prime Minister in Thai history.

Photo: On August 15, 2024, Pheu Thai Party leader and former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin's daughter, Pathondan, spoke to reporters at a press conference in Bangkok after being nominated as the new prime minister by the ruling coalition partners.

Who is she? Challenge the political destiny of her family?

As we all know, Paetongtarn Shinawatra is the daughter of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. On Friday, August 16, she was appointed as the 31st Prime Minister of Thailand.

Although she has never been a member of parliament or a minister, she has long been involved in politics. When her father was the 23rd prime minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006, she accompanied him on campaign trips and met with the public until the coup.

In 2008, the Constitutional Court ordered the dissolution of the People's Power Party and her uncle, the 26th Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, was also removed from office.

Subsequently, her aunt, Yingluck Shinawatra, Thailand's first female prime minister, was ordered to step down by the Constitutional Court before the 2014 coup. Yingluck fled Thailand in 2017 and was later sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted in absentia in the "rice case."

Despite witnessing the fate of his father, uncle and aunt, Bedongdan still dared to enter politics.

Photo: Thaksin ShinawatraJuly 26Thaksin’s birthday photo.

On October 28, 2021, at the Pheu Thai Party's annual conference held at the Khon Kaen International Convention and Exhibition Center in Thailand, the 36-year-old officially entered politics. At the event, Sompong, then chairman of the Pheu Thai Party, announced his resignation, and Bettongdan was introduced as the party's chief advisor for engagement and innovation.

Born on August 21, 1986, Bettongdan is the youngest child of Thaksin and Khun Ying. Her nickname is Ung-Ing. She has an older brother, Oak-Panthongtae, who is six years older than her, and an older sister, Aim-Pintongta, who is four years older than her.

Bettongdan completed his secondary education at St. Joseph's Convent School and Mater Dei School, obtained a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from Chulalongkorn College, and then continued his studies at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom, majoring in International Hotel Management.

After graduation, she returned to the family business and became the largest shareholder of real estate company SC Asset and a board member of Thaicom Foundation. She also holds shares in other companies, including Rosewood Bangkok, Thames Valley Khao Yai and The Sisters Nails & More. As of 2022, the company holds shares in 21 companies with an estimated value of approximately 68 billion baht.

Photo: On July 10, 2008, Bettongdan took a photo with his family at his graduation ceremony at Chulalongkorn University.

In 2019, Bedongdan married Pidok Suksawat and had a son and a daughter. The younger daughter was born during the general election. She gave birth to the child on May 1, before the general election on May 14, 2023. In this election, the Pheu Thai Party won 141 seats, only 10 seats behind the Progressive Party, ranking second. This is the first loss of the Pheu Thai Party in the general election.

However, Pheu Thai was able to successfully form a government by forming a coalition with former coalition partners of the Prayuth junta. Instead of accepting a ministerial post, Pattondan chose to become deputy chairman of the Soft Power Strategy Committee and continue to serve as Pheu Thai leader, as Thaksin had previously said: "Pettondan should stay in the party and Settha should stay in the government building."

Before the Pheu Thai Party board voted to endorse Pathondan as the prime ministerial candidate on August 15, Pingthongta shared a photo of her sister enjoying a happy lunch with former prime minister Setiawan. She later revealed that Setiawan also supported her nomination as the prime minister's successor.

Bedondan's appointment seemed to be a natural and easy process, and what awaited her was the mission of becoming prime minister.

Economic issues are a very challenging task for her because Thailand, like many other countries, faces a difficult recovery in the post-epidemic era. In addition, the decade after the coup led to a long-term economic downturn in Thailand. Even Thaksin has said that the current situation is much more difficult than when he was prime minister.

On social media, some people used clips of Patondam's campaign promises to improve the lives of the Thai people to mock, ridicule and even insult her, claiming that the government could not achieve these goals.

Although Bettongdan shares the patience of her aunt Yingluck, she responds to criticism with greater confidence and force.

Therefore, her term is highly anticipated, with people not only expecting her to bring a good life, but also wondering whether she can break the curse of the Shinawatra family's leadership fate.

Court ruling prompts new prime minister

The dismissal of Setha by the Constitutional Court is the second major ruling in recent days to shake up Thai politics. The same court just dissolved the main progressive opposition party, the Progress Party, which won last year's election but was banned from governing on the grounds that it proposed to amend Article 112 of the constitution to punish lese majeste. The party has now reorganized as the People's Party (Prachachon).

The day after the Constitutional Court ruled that Setha was removed from the post of prime minister, Pheu Thai Party leader Pathondan received full support from coalition partners of the coalition government and gathered at Shinawatra Building 3 in Bangkok to hold a press conference and nominated her as the 31st prime minister of Thailand. They said that although they regretted Setha's removal, the country must move forward.

Photo: On August 15, 2024, Pheu Thai Party leader Paddam and her ruling coalition partners held a press conference at Shinawatra House in Bangkok to nominate her as the new prime minister.

Pheu Thai's coalition partners have already expressed support for their candidate for prime minister, including the Thai Pride Party, which came in third in last year's election, as well as the pro-military Palang Pracharat and Thai National Unity Party. Palang Pracharat candidate and leader Anutin is seen as another frontrunner but has said he will not run against the Pheu Thai candidate in Friday's vote.

"We are all ready to provide full support and cooperation, including being ready to implement the new prime minister's policies from the first day he is officially appointed," said Anutin, leader of the Palang Pracharat Party.

Bedondan expressed her gratitude to the Pheu Thai Party and members of the coalition government for choosing and supporting her as the new prime minister.

Photo: Pheu Thai Party leader Paddam has won the support of her ruling coalition partners to nominate her as the new prime minister.

Prime Minister Candidate Suspense

Thailand's House of Representatives Speaker Wanmohammad Noor Mata convened a special session of the House of Representatives on Friday, August 16 to deliberate and confirm the suitable candidate for the post of prime minister in accordance with Article 159 of the Constitution, that is, to elect a new prime minister.

Votes for the new prime minister depend on whether the candidate appears on the party's list and receives the support of at least 5% of MPs or more than 25 MPs.

There are currently seven qualified candidates from five political parties: Chaikasem Nitisiri and Paetongtarn Shinawatra of the Pheu Thai Party; Anutin Charnvirakul of the Palang Pracharat Party; General Prawit Wongsuwan of the Palang Pracharat Party; Pirapan Salirathavibhaga and General Prayut Chan-o-cha of the National United Thai Party; and Jurin Laksanawisit of the Democrat Party.

But two of them were excluded from the election because General Prayut is currently a member of the Privy Council and Jurin belongs to the opposition.

Photo: A photo taken on the 15th shows that Bedondan and former Prime Minister Setia had lunch together, and both of them looked very happy. The title of the post was simple, with only "lunch time" and a heart emoticon.

On Wednesday, Setha was sacked as prime minister less than a year after taking the job. Thailand's Constitutional Court ruled that he had committed a serious ethical violation by appointing a cabinet member who had been jailed for bribery. This led to his dismissal and a reshuffle of the entire cabinet.

The Pheu Thai Party has two qualified candidates for prime minister, both of whom have participated in the 2023 general election. One is Padongdan, the daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin, who is regarded as a true elder of the Pheu Thai Party. The other is 75-year-old former Justice Minister Chaikasone, who served in the Pheu Thai Party government led by Thaksin's sister Yingluck and was ousted in a coup in 2014.

Until August 14, Bettongdan's name had not received such intense attention. On that day, she was still in China and did not attend the most important ministerial meeting of the Pheu Thai Party and the coalition government held at Thaksin's official residence.

According to Thai media reports on the same day, Chaikasen, who attended the meeting, may have the opportunity to become prime minister.

Even Suranand Vejjajiva, a former minister in the Prime Minister's Office and former secretary-general of the Prime Minister's Office, openly believed that Pheu Thai might choose Chaikasone first to familiarize Bedongdam with the situation, as she has no experience in state administration or as a parliamentarian.

However, at a Pheu Thai Party MPs meeting on August 15, most votes went to Pattondan, who will turn 38 next Wednesday. The reason for this decision is that she and Seta campaigned across the country and are closer to the people, while Chaikasone, although highly respected, is 75 years old and in poor health, and withdrew from the election last year.

There are also concerns about possible problems in the future, particularly regarding Chaikasone's previous statement that the law on lèse-majesté should be amended, and the decision by prosecutors when he was attorney general not to prosecute Pichit Chuenban, the man accused of bribing court officials that ultimately led to Setha's dismissal.

Photo: On August 15, Pheu Thai Party leader Paddam and coalition partners held a press conference at Shinawatra Tower 3 in Bangkok to nominate her as the new prime minister.

Taking these concerns into account, the Pheu Thai Party's board of directors decided to nominate Pattondan as the 31st prime minister, and all coalition parties publicly announced their support for the Pheu Thai Party's candidate, no matter who the candidate is.

A new era in Thai politics

Patondan became prime minister at the age of 37, the same age as Nuttapong Ruengpanyawut, leader of the People's Party and the new leader of the largest opposition party, the People's Party, marking a new era in Thai politics.

Betongdan must prove his mettle as Thailand tries to revive its economy, with the public eagerly watching whether a partially implemented stimulus package for digital wallets will go ahead.

At a press conference with leaders of coalition parties, Ms. Bettongdan said she would do her best to help the country overcome economic weakness. Regarding the project of distributing 10,000 baht in a "digital wallet", she said that opinions would be heard first before continuing to implement it.

She also said in response to media questions that she had consulted her family, her mother's concerns were understandable, and everyone respected her decision. Her father Thaksin had been giving her advice.

When asked by reporters about her lunch with former prime minister Setiawan on Thursday and whether they had discussed the matter, she replied that he also supported her nomination.

She is expected to face a political challenge from conservative forces, many of whom have long opposed or even hated her father, Thaksin.

Furthermore, these conservative forces have fully demonstrated their power and influence by disbanding the Kadima Party and removing Prime Minister Setia, highlighting that the executive power cannot function independently without amending the constitution, which is the legacy of the coup.

Photo: Pheu Thai Party leader and daughter of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, delivers a speech at the party headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand on October 27, 2023.

A roundabout election

The Pheu Thai Party came second in last year's general election, but the victorious reformist Progressive Party was blocked by the previous Senate, which was appointed by the military, giving it the opportunity to form a government, with Setth taking over as prime minister.

Pheu Thai then excluded the Progressive Party from the ruling coalition and subsequently joined forces with parties affiliated with the previous military-backed government, which was overthrown in a coup. The move was resented and criticized by some supporters, but party officials said it was necessary to break the deadlock and begin reconciliation after decades of deep political divisions.

Photo: On October 27, 2023, the new leader of the Pheu Thai Party, Paddongdan, extended the traditional greeting and Namaste to members of the Pheu Thai Party at the Pheu Thai Party headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand.

Thailand's constitution, amended in 2017 during the Prayuth military government, gave former senators special powers to veto prime ministerial candidates. However, this power expired when their term ended in May. The new senators, who were elected last month through a complex process, do not retain the veto power.

Now, candidates only need to get a majority of the House of Representatives, which means at least 247 votes. As a result of the dissolution of the Progress Party, six lawmakers were banned from politics, and the House of Representatives currently has 493 incumbent members. Another Thai Pride Party lawmaker was suspended pending a court ruling.

Photo: Members of the Pheu Thai Party meet at the Parliament in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, August 15, 2024.

While Pheu Thai's main coalition partners have backed its candidate, Pathondan, they have all reiterated that they will not support changes to the lèse majeste law, which became a key issue in last year's election. Pheu Thai discussed the issue during the campaign but has notably toned down its rhetoric since taking power.

The law, known as Article 112 of Thailand's penal code, prohibits criticism of the monarchy and carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison for each offense. Critics say it is often used as a tool to suppress political dissent.

The People's Party, the new home of lawmakers from the disbanded Progress Party, said Thursday it would not vote for Pheu Thai candidates on Friday. People's Party leader Nataporn said the party would continue to fulfill its duties as an opposition party.