Paetongtarn Shinawatra becomes Prime Minister of Thailand

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of divisive former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, has become Thailand's prime minister after receiving a royal letter of assent on Sunday. The decision comes two days after she was elected by Parliament.

Shinawatra replaces another leader from the same Pheu Thai party, at the head of a coalition that includes military parties linked to the coup that toppled the last government, AP reports.

Paetongtarn is the third Shinawatra to hold the post, following her billionaire father and her aunt, Yingluck Shinawatra. Both were removed from office and forced into exile during coups, although Thaksin returned to Thailand last year while Pheu Thai was forming a government.

She received her nomination paper at a ceremony at party headquarters in Bangkok, attended by senior members of the ruling coalition parties and her father, who has no formal role but is widely seen as Pheu Thai's de facto leader. . 

Paetongtarn thanked the king, the Thai people and lawmakers, saying she will carry out her duties "with an open mind" and "make every square inch of Thailand a space that allows Thai people to dare to dream, to dare to create and dare to dictate their own future.”

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Paetongtarn became prime minister days after the Constitutional Court removed Prime Minister Srettha Thavis after less than a year in office. The court found him guilty of a serious ethical breach for appointing a cabinet minister who had been jailed for contempt of court after an alleged attempt to bribe a judge.

Paetongtarn is also Thailand's second female prime minister after her aunt, and the country's youngest leader at 37.