She will hope to avoid the fate of her father and aunt, both of whom were ousted as prime minister by the army during a two-decade power struggle between Thaksin and the kingdom’s conservative pro-military, pro-royalist establishment.
Paetongtarn said on Friday she was “very honoured and happy”.
“I really hope that I can make people feel confident. I hope to improve the quality of lives and empower all Thais,” she told reporters.
“I decided that it’s about time to do something for the country and the party. I hope that I can do my best to make the country go forward.”
Paetongtarn’s elevation to the top job came about after the kingdom’s Constitutional Court sacked previous premier Srettha Thavisin for appointing a cabinet minister with a criminal conviction.
Srettha’s ouster on Wednesday in a case brought by army-appointed former senators was the latest round in the long-running scrap between the Thai elite and populist parties linked to Thaksin, a telecoms tycoon and one-time Manchester City owner.
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Thai parliament elects Thaksin’s daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, as country’s next prime minister
Thai parliament elects Thaksin’s daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, as country’s next prime minister
Paetongtarn helped run the hotel arm of the family’s business empire before entering politics in late 2022, and she was a near-constant presence on the campaign trail during last year’s general election.
That vote saw the upstart progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) win the most seats after pledging to review the country’s strict lèse-majesté laws and break up powerful business monopolies.
But conservative senators – all appointed by the last junta – blocked MFP’s attempt to form a government.
Pheu Thai subsequently struck an alliance with pro-military parties once staunchly opposed to Thaksin and his followers, leading to Srettha’s ascension.
Less than a year later, he became the third Pheu Thai prime minister to be kicked out by the Constitutional Court.
Srettha was ousted over his appointment of Pichit Chuenban, a former lawyer associated with Thaksin’s family who had a corruption-related conviction.
Last week, the top court also voted to dissolve MFP and ban its executive board members from politics for 10 years, though the party swiftly relaunched itself as the People’s Party.