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Anutin Charnvirakul new Thai PM as Thaksin jets off

September 5, 2025

Thailand's parliament elected Anutin Charnvirakul as the country's new prime minister. But his victory was overshadowed by the dramatic departure of Thaksin Shinawatra.

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Anutin Charnvirakul waves in parliament after being elected prime minister
Anutin has previously served as deputy prime minister, interior minister and health ministerImage: Chalinee Thirasupa/REUTERS

Thailand's parliament elected Anutin Charnvirakul as the country's new prime minister on Friday.

Anutin won 311 votes, securing a comfortable majority of the 492 lawmakers in the National Assembly's lower house, official final results showed. 

The tycoon-turned-politician will take up the position after Paetongtarn Shinawatra was removed from office a week ago following a court ruling.

Anutin's election was overshadowed by the departure hours earlier of Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister of Thailand, who abruptly left the country on Thursday, ahead of a court ruling that could send him to prison.

Thailand appoints third new prime minister in two years

Thaksin Shinawatra's legal woes

Thaksin told officials he was flying to Singapore for medical reasons, but his jet diverted mid-flight and landed in Dubai, where he previously lived in exile.

On Friday morning, he took to social media to say he would return to attend the hearing on Tuesday.

Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra waves as he attends a case at Criminal Court in Bangkok on August 22, 2025.
Thaksin said he left for a medical checkup in Singapore but then flew to Dubai [FILE: August 22, 2025]Image: Arnun Chonmahatrakool/AP Photo/dpa/picture alliance

Thaksin served as Thailand's prime minister until a 2006 coup ousted him while he was abroad. He briefly returned in 2008 but fled again before a corruption verdict. After years in exile, he came back in 2023 to serve an eight-year sentence, later reduced to one year by royal pardon. He was held in a hospital suite, sparking claims of special treatment.

The Supreme Court will rule Tuesday on whether the Corrections Department acted legally in granting him early release. While his guilt is not the subject of the case, some analysts say the verdict could still result in jail time.

Anutin premiership could be short-lived

Since the 2023 elections, the Pheu Thai coalition, linked to the powerful Shinawatra family, has held Thailand's top office.

But a Thai court removed Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thaksin's daughter, from office last Friday.

The Constitutional Court's verdict came nearly two months after her suspension. She faced charges stemming from a conversation with Cambodian leader Hun Senover competing claims along their border, which sparked public backlash and raised doubts about her competence and loyalty.

The political turmoil has positioned construction magnate and Bhumjaithai Party leader Anutin Charnvirakul as the winner in Friday's vote. 

The 58-year-old once backed the Shinawatra-aligned Pheu Thai coalition but distanced himself this summer, reportedly in response to Paetongtarn's conduct.

Anutin, who is best known for championing Thailand's decriminalisation of cannabis, was elected with the opposition People's Party support. 

Their key condition was that new elections be called within four months.

Edited by: Sean Sinico