Paetongtarn Shinawatra was endorsed as prime minister by Thailand’s king on Sunday, two days after parliament elected her, paving the way for her to form a cabinet in the coming weeks.
Paetongtarn, 37, becomes Thailand’s youngest prime minister just days after ally Srettha Thavisin was dismissed as premier by the Constitutional Court, a judiciary central to Thailand’s two decades of intermittent political turmoil.
Daughter of divisive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Paetongtarn won by nearly two-thirds in a House vote on Friday to become Thailand’s second female prime minister and the third Shinawatra to take the office, following Thaksin and her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra.
The approval by King Maha Vajiralongkorn, a formality, was read out by House of Representatives Secretary Apat Sukhanand at a ceremony in Bangkok on Sunday.
Dressed in official uniform, Paetongtarn knelt in homage to a portrait of the king before giving a short speech thanking the king and the people’s representatives for endorsing her as prime minister.
“As head of the executive branch, I will do my duty together with the legislators with an open heart,” she said. “I will listen to all opinions so together we can take the country forward with stability,” she said.
After accepting the royal endorsement, Paetongtarn hugged her father Thaksin, and other family members.
In her first press conference, Paetongtarn said she would continue with all policies of her predecessor Srettha, including “major” economic stimulus and reform, tackling illegal drugs, improving the country’s universal healthcare system, and promoting gender diversity.
She said the government will not abandon its flagship digital wallet policy but will seek to “study and listen to additional options” to make sure the scheme is fiscally responsible.
