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Anutin Charnvirakul elected Thailand’s new Prime Minister amid political crisis: 10 key points
Anutin Charnvirakul is best known for spearheading Thailand’s 2022 decriminalisation of cannabis.
Thailand’s parliament on Friday elected Anutin Charnvirakul as the country’s new prime minister, making him the nation’s third leader since 2023.
The 58-year-old leader secured at least 273 votes in the lower house, comfortably crossing the 247 required for victory, reported Bloomberg. His rival, Chaikasem Nitisiri of the Shinawatra family-led bloc, garnered 132 votes.
Anutin, a former construction magnate and licensed pilot known for playing saxophone, was able to clinch the Thailand prime ministerial post only after gaining the support of the pro-democracy People’s Party. However, their backing came with a condition – that he commit to holding fresh elections within months.
Anutin Charnvirakul succeeds Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the youngest daughter of ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was removed from office last week after the Constitutional Court found her guilty of ethical violations.
Thailand's new PM Anutin Charnvirakul: 10 key points
- A conservative figure, Charnvirakul is best known for spearheading Thailand’s 2022 decriminalisation of cannabis.
- Despite his victory, analysts note his tenure could be short-lived, given the fragile political arrangement and the opposition’s insistence on elections within four months.
- Anutin Charnvirakul hails from a prominent political and business family. His father briefly served as acting prime minister during Thailand’s 2008 political crisis before taking charge as interior minister for three years.
- Charnvirakul family's wealth stems from Sino-Thai Engineering, a construction company that has long benefited from state contracts, including major projects such as Bangkok’s main airport and the parliament complex, reported news agency AFP.
- Trained as an industrial engineer in New York, he began his political career in his early 30s as an adviser to the foreign affairs ministry. He later held key posts including health minister, interior minister and deputy prime minister.
- Known by the nickname “Noo,” meaning “mouse” in Thai, Anutin Charnvirakul has cultivated an image as a man of the people, often expressing his fondness for Thai street food despite his affluent background.
- The new Thailand PM was once a member of Thaksin Shinawatra’s Thai Rak Thai party, but he was barred from political activity for five years after the party was dissolved in 2007. He later returned to public life as leader of the centre-right Bhumjaithai Party, which achieved its best-ever result in the 2023 general election with a third-place finish.
- During his time away from politics, he learned to fly and built a small fleet of private aircraft, which he used to transport patients to hospitals and deliver donated organs.
- Known for its flexibility, the party has joined multiple governing coalitions over the years, with Anutin serving as deputy to Thailand’s last three prime ministers, including Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
- His party, Bhumjaithai Party has earned a reputation as “the quintessential power broker,” according to Thai studies scholars Napon Jatusripitak and Suthikarn Meechan's article published online last year cited by AP. “This stems from its lack of ideological commitments (except being more pro-monarchy in recent years), aggressive tactics in poaching MPs from other parties, and Teflon-like pragmatism in forming and switching alliances,” they wrote.
(With AFP, AP inputs)
