The Hong Kong connection of Thailand’s new leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra

Country’s new prime minister, daughter of controversial former leader Thaksin, was married in Hong Kong and last visited in April

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New Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra with her children at Hong Kong’s Ocean Park. Photo: Instagram/ @ingshin21

Published: 9:17pm, 16 Aug 2024Updated: 11:55am, 17 Aug 2024

Newly elected Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of former leader Thaksin, left notable footprints in Hong Kong, including hosting her high-profile wedding at one of the city’s upscale hotels five years ago.

The 37-year-old leader of the ruling Pheu Thai Party, a former executive in a hotel business run by her family, was elected on Friday as Asia’s youngest leader and only the second woman Thai prime minister after her aunt Yingluck.

Paetongtarn’s victory marked the Shinawatra clan’s return to power in Thailand. Her billionaire father Thaksin was ousted in a military coup in 2006 and spent 15 years in self-imposed exile.

She made waves in Hong Kong in March 2019 when she tied the knot with Pidok Sooksawas, a pilot by training, at the luxurious Rosewood Hong Kong, complete with a lavish banquet. Thai media reported she held shares in the Rosewood Hotel in Bangkok.

The banquet was reportedly attended by about 1,000 celebrities and dignitaries, including Thaksin, Yingluck and Thai Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya, the elder sister of King Vajiralongkorn.

Thaksin Shinawatra (far right), Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya (second right) and Paetongtarn Shinawatraher (second left) arrive at the Rosewood Hotel in 2019. Photo: Sam Tsang

Photos shared on social media showed guests including George Yeo, chairman of the Kerry Logistics Network and a former foreign minister of Singapore; American academic and writer Tom Plate; and Jaesen Ng, who owns a hawker stall in Singapore called Thaksin Beef Noodle.