Anutin Charnvirakul
Thai Parliament elects business tycoon Anutin Charnvirakul as new PM
The Thai Parliament has chosen the country's business tycoon, Anutin Charnvirakul, as the prime minister of the country, the third person to hold the office in two years.
He was picked up for the post just days after another leader was removed from the position, creating a political crisis in the country.
Recently, Paetongtarn Shinawatra was removed from the position by the constitutional court for committing an ethical violation in her handling of the border conflict with Cambodia.
Anutin's Bhumjaithai party ended the alliance with the Shinawatras' Pheu Thai and then secured enough support to clinch the premiership.
Anutin Charnvirakul secured over 247 votes from MPs to become the new prime minister, defeating Chaikasem Nitisiri, the Pheu Thai Party’s nominee, reported The Bangkok Post.
Charnvirakul's victory is also acting as a blow to Shinawatra family that has been dominating the political paradigm of Thailand since 2001.
In his long political career, Anutin Charnvirakul had previously served as the Deputy Prime Minister when his Bhumjaithai Party was the second-largest member of the ruling coalition.
He had also managed his family's construction business before joining politics.
In the past, he had held key cabinet positions, which included the Interior Minister and Health Ministry.
According to reports, during his tenure as Health Minister, he had amended the Narcotics Law to remove cannabis from the list of controlled substances in 2022.
He was also serving as the country's health minister during the COVID-19 crisis.
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
