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Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn appoints Paetongtarn Shinawatra as new PM

  • Paetongtarn received the monarch’s official written command to form a government in a ceremony in Bangkok

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Paetongtarn Shinawatra arrives for the royal endorsement ceremony appointing her as the new prime minister of Thailand, in Bangkok on Sunday. Photo: AFP
Thailand’s new Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of controversial billionaire ex-premier Thaksin, vowed to boost the kingdom’s sluggish economy as she formally took office on Sunday.
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Paetongtarn, at 37 the kingdom’s youngest ever prime minister, comes to power after a court sacked the previous premier and disbanded the main opposition party, throwing Thailand’s ever-febrile political scene into a new round of turmoil.

She is the third Shinawatra to be prime minister, but will hope to avoid the fate of her father and aunt Yingluck, both of whom were thrown out of power in military coups.

Paetongtarn accepted King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s official written command to form a government in a ceremony at the headquarters of a former pro-Thaksin TV station on Sunday.

She called on all Thais to work together to help revitalise the country’s sluggish economy, which has struggled to bounce back from the Covid-19 pandemic.

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“As head of the government I will work with parliament with an open heart, open to all ideas to help develop the country,” she said after the ceremony.

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