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Thailand’s Thaksin will return from exile on August 10, says daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra
- The 74-year-old is a bogeyman for Thailand’s pro-military and royalist establishment and his return could inflame an already tense political situation
- Twice elected PM but ousted by a military coup in 2006, Thaksin has long spoken of his wish to come home – but faces multiple criminal charges
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![Thailand’s self-exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra pictured in Hong Kong in 2019. Photo: AFP](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1020x680/public/d8/images/canvas/2023/07/26/79220b97-550c-42c7-99a2-dec8b726c9fe_2cc8de36.jpg?itok=LasOTOs2&v=1690353723)
Thailand’s billionaire former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra will return to the kingdom on August 10 after 15 years in self-exile, his daughter said on Wednesday.
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The 74-year-old tycoon, twice elected prime minister but ousted by a military coup in 2006, has long spoken of his wish to come home, but faces multiple criminal charges – which he says are politically motivated.
Thaksin is a bogeyman for Thailand’s pro-military and royalist establishment and his return could inflame an already tense political situation.
The kingdom is in political deadlock after the military-dominated Senate blocked the head of the Move Forward Party from becoming prime minister after the reformist party won May’s elections.
![Paetongtarn Shinawatra pictured at a political rally in May. She shared the news about her father’s return from exile on Wednesday, Thaksin’s birthday. Photo: Reuters Paetongtarn Shinawatra pictured at a political rally in May. She shared the news about her father’s return from exile on Wednesday, Thaksin’s birthday. Photo: Reuters](https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2023/07/26/b60ca059-9259-4794-a116-fafb294cde1c_d7b207da.jpg)
“I can’t believe what I am about to write. Dad is coming back on Aug 10 at Don Meung airport,” his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra wrote on her official Facebook page on Wednesday – Thaksin’s birthday.
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