BANGKOK (Reuters) -Thailand’s parliament has picked Anutin Charnvirakul, the 58-year-old leader of the Bhumjaithai party, to be the next prime minister.
The following is background on Anutin, who was elected following last week’s dismissal of Paetongtarn Shinawatra from the role after the Constitutional Court found she had violated ethical rules.
PATH TO PREMIERSHIP
– Bhumjaithai was the second largest party in the ruling coalition led by Paetongtarn’s Pheu Thai party when Anutin was Deputy Prime Minister.
– Anutin withdrew from the coalition in June after the damaging leak of a phone call between the prime minister and Cambodia’s Hun Sen over a border dispute. That call was the basis of the case that led to Paetongtarn’s removal from office.
– The opposition People’s Party, which holds nearly a third of lower house seats and is the largest party in parliament, said it would back Anutin to be prime minister in return for his promise to dissolve parliament within four months. The People’s Party will not join the government.
– Anutin said he had support from seven other parties and groups, comprising 146 parliamentary seats. Along with the People’s Party’s 143 seats, he would have 289 members supporting him to become prime minister, more than the 247 votes needed.
POLITICAL CAREER
– Started in politics with Thai Rak Thai, the party founded by Thaksin Shinawatra, Paetongtarn’s father.
– Served under Thaksin briefly as deputy health minister in 2004 and then deputy commerce minister later that year before returning to the health portfolio in 2005.
– Banned from politics for five years after Thai Rak Thai was dissolved in 2007.
– Returned as leader of the Bhumjaithai party in 2012. Its strongholds are in the northeast of the country, and the party won 70 seats in the 2023 election.
– Was health minister during COVID-19, overseeing lockdowns, vaccine procurement, and treatment. He was credited with reopening Thailand to foreign tourism, a key economic driver.
– Served as interior minister in the Pheu Thai-led government since 2023.
– Led a successful campaign for a liberalisation of cannabis laws, wearing a cannabis leaf pattern shirt while voting in the 2023 election.
– The changes led to a rise in recreational use and an explosion of cannabis shops, upsetting conservatives and leading to Pheu Thai’s plans to recriminalise non-medical marijuana.
– He is close to the monarchy, recently accompanying King Maha Vajiralongkorn during a four-day visit to Bhutan in April, and has positioned himself as part of both a regional political dynasty and the royalist-conservative establishment.
FAMILY AND BUSINESS
– Nicknamed Noo, the Thai word for mouse, he is the son of Chavarat Charnvirakul, a businessman-politician who once served as caretaker prime minister.
– Heir to his family’s construction firm, Stecon Group, which built the parliament buildings in Bangkok.
– Anutin holds a degree in industrial engineering from Hofstra University in New York.
– Maintains close ties with business elites and influential political figures such as power broker Newin Chidchob, who has a stronghold in Thailand’s northeast.
– His interests include recreational flying, with state media reporting he has piloted flights for emergency organ donations under the Hearts with Wings programme, while government asset declarations show he is a collector of Buddhist amulets.
(Compiled by Chaut Setboonsarng, Thanadech Staporncharnchai and Orathai Sriring; Editing by John Mair and Saad Sayeed)
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