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☆ Factbox-Thailand's Polarising Ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

(Reuters) - Thailand's billionaire former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was released from detention on Sunday, enjoying freedom in his country for the first time since fleeing into exile nearly 16 years ago to avoid jail. - Thaksin ran several failed businesses with his wife before getting his break in the 1980s leasing computers to the police. In 2010, a court seized $1.4 billion worth of Shinawatra assets, concluding Thaksin had concealed his Shin Corp shareholdings and tailored policy to benefit his business. - Thaksin's sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, was also prime minister and suffered an almost identical fate as him. - Thaksin's youngest daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 37, is Pheu Thai party leader and eligible to become prime minister.

Persons: Thaksin Shinawatra, Chiang Mai, Thaksin, Yingluck Shinawatra, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Srettha Thavisin, Martin Petty, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Reuters, Eastern Kentucky University, Kentucky Fried, Thailand's, Shin Corporation, Shin Corp, English Premier League football, Fulham, Manchester City, Forbes, Thai Rak, Thai Rak Thai, People Power Party, Srettha Locations: Thai, Chiang, Kentucky, Singapore, Thailand, Liverpool, Dubai, Britain, Montenegro, Thai Rak Thai, Thai Rak, Bangkok

☆ Thaksin Shinawatra: Ousted Thai PM's Life in Politics
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's controversial billionaire former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was released on parole on Sunday after serving six months in detention. 1998Thaksin founds the Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party. In September, the military launches a coup against Thaksin while he is overseas, citing the need to end the protests. 2011New elections are won in a landslide by another new pro-Thaksin party, Pheu Thai. Thaksin applies for a royal pardon and his eight-year jail term is commuted to a year by the king.

Persons: Thaksin Shinawatra, Thaksin, Love Thais, Thais, Yingluck Shinawatra, Thaksin's, Srettha Thavisin, Nick Macfie, Martin Petty Organizations: Thai Rak Thai, Thaksin, People's Alliance for Democracy, Shin Corporation, Temasek, English Premier League, Manchester City, Power Party, United Front for Democracy, Democrat Party Locations: BANGKOK, Thai, Singapore, Thai Rak Thai, Britain, Bangkok, Thailand

Farmers across the agrarian heartland that makes Thailand the world's second-largest rice exporter should be poised to benefit. These pressures on the sector, reported in detail for the first time by Reuters, are squeezing debt-laden Thai farmers despite tens of billions of dollars in subsidies over the past decade. Successive governments have spent 1.2 trillion Thai baht ($33.85 billion) on price and income interventions for rice farmers in the last decade, estimates Somporn. The average Thai farmer's income has dwindled. Unstable income for Thai rice farmersIn the years since Sripai followed her family into the paddy fields, the challenges have multiplied, but current prices offer a rare opportunity.

Persons: Somporn, Sripai, Danai Saengthabthim, Srettha Thavisin, King Chulalongkorn, Nipon Poapongsakorn, Thailand's, KNIT's, Yingluck Shinawatra, Yingluck, Devjyot Ghoshal, Pasit, Katerina Ang, Kay Johnson Organizations: Farmers, Reuters, Research, Knowledge Network Institute of Thailand, Bank for Agriculture, Agricultural Cooperatives, Agriculture, El, National Water Resources, Thailand Development Research, Nipon, Thomson Locations: Thailand, Kaeo, Chai, India, East, Asia, Africa, Rice, Chai Nat, Bangkok, Bangladesh, Nepal, Vietnam

CNN —Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has submitted a request for a royal pardon, the outgoing justice minister said, just over a week after his dramatic return to the country from more than 15 years in self-exile. Thaksin, the head of a famed political dynasty, was prime minister from 2001 until he was ousted in a military coup in 2006. Outgoing Justice Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam confirmed to reporters Thursday that he had received Thaksin’s letter requesting a royal pardon from King Maha Vajiralongkorn. It is unclear how long the application process for a royal pardon will take. In Thailand, prisoners can request a royal pardon through the justice minister, who passes the application to the prime minister and then on the the King for final approval.

Persons: Thaksin Shinawatra, Thaksin, Wissanu Krea, ngam, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, Thailand’s, ”, Srettha, Pheu, Pheu Thai’s, Thaksin’s, Yingluck Shinawatra, King, Prayut Chan Organizations: CNN, Former, Thai Corrections Department Locations: Former Thai, Thailand, Bangkok

☆ Thailand has a new leader but it's not the one people voted for. Here's why
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Protesters walk through smoke after setting fire to mock corpses during a protest at Pheu Thai Party headquarters in Bangkok on August 2, 2023. It formed a coalition with other like-minded parties, including runners up Pheu Thai. Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra flanked by his son Panthongtae Shinawatra and daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra at Don Mueang airport in Bangkok, Thailand August 22, 2023. “I want to be a prime minister who can make the difference,” Srettha previously told CNN. But with an 11-member coalition that includes bitter rivals, it’s unclear whether Srettha and Pheu Thai will be able to govern effectively.

Persons: staved, Srettha Thavisin, Thaksin Shinawatra, Thaksin, Thais, Valeria Mongelli, Hans Lucas, lese, Pita Limjaroenrat, Pita, Pheu, Pheu Thai, Thaksin’s, Shinatwatra, ”, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Panthongtae Shinawatra, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Athit, ” Thitinan, Yingluck Shinawatra, “, Strettha, Thailand’s King Vajiralongkorn, Srettha, Prayut Chan Organizations: CNN, Party, Pheu Thai Party, Reuters, Pheu, Senate, Chulalongkorn University . Former Thai, Thaksin, Manchester City Football Club, Thai, Facebook, Thai Corrections Department, Procter & Gamble, Bangkok Post Locations: Thailand, Bangkok, Senate, Thai, Pheu Thai, Don Mueang

BANGKOK, Aug 22 (Reuters) - When Thailand's deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra went into self-imposed exile in 2008 facing a raft of corruption charges following his ouster in a military coup, he issued a hand-written note. Thaksin has been Thailand's most prominent politician for decades, retaining outsized influence despite the years away. "It closes a crucial chapter in Thailand's politics," Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, said of Thaksin's return. A shrewd operator who rarely minces his words, an increasingly wealthy Thaksin entered politics in the mid-1990s, initially serving as foreign minister and then deputy prime minister. But the brash Thaksin, who called himself Thailand's first "CEO prime minister", faced royalist accusations that he was undermining the revered monarchy, which he denied.

Persons: Thailand's, Thaksin Shinawatra, Thaksin, Thaksin's, Yingluck Shinawatra, Critics, watchdogs, Chalinee, Chiang Mai, Love Thais, Devjyot Ghoshal, Chayut Setboonsarng, Panu, Robert Birsel Organizations: Thaksin, Chulalongkorn University, Thai, REUTERS, Rights, Shin Corporation, Thai Rak Thai, Singapore's Temasek, Premier League, Manchester City, Thomson Locations: BANGKOK, Bangkok, Thailand, Chiang, United States, Thai, Britain

CNN —Thailand’s parliament on Tuesday voted for real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin to be the country’s next prime minister, bringing an end to three months of political deadlock. Srettha, 60, was the sole candidate put forward by the populist Pheu Thai Party and received 482 votes out of a possible 747 in Thailand’s bicameral parliament. “I want to be a prime minister who can make the difference,” Srettha told CNN. During campaigning, Pheu Thai pledged to give 10,000 baht (about $300) in a digital wallet to every citizen over the age of 16. But with an 11-member coalition that includes bitter military rivals, it is unclear whether Pheu Thai can govern effectively.

Persons: CNN —, Srettha Thavisin, Thaksin Shinawatra, Srettha, Pheu Thai, Pracharath, Prayut Chan, Pheu Thai’s, Thaksin’s, Yingluck Shinawatra, Thais, Thaksin, “, ” Srettha Organizations: CNN, Pheu Thai Party, Pheu Thai, United Thai Nation Party, National Institute of Development Administration, Reuters, “, Claremont Graduate School, Procter & Gamble Locations: Thailand, Pheu, Thai, “ Thailand, United Kingdom, United States

The former prime minister then left on a police truck, headed to the Supreme Court. The Thaksin-backed Pheu Thai party, which came second in the May election, will nominate its choice for the country’s next leader Tuesday: real estate mogul Srettha Thavisin. Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra while flanked by his son Panthongtae Shinawatra and daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra at Don Mueang airport in Bangkok, Thailand on August 22. Pheu Thai Party leader Cholnan Srikaew said in a statement Monday that the coalition would not include Move Forward Party, which won the most votes in the election. In 2006, Thaksin was ousted and, facing a potential prison sentence over corruption charges, went into self-imposed exile.

Persons: Thaksin Shinawatra, Thaksin, Thaksin’s, Yingluck Shinawatra, Paetongtarn, Srettha Thavisin, Palang Pracharath, Prayut Chan, Yingluck, Panthongtae Shinawatra, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Athit, Thais, Cholnan Srikaew, –, ”, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Prayut, “, “ We’ve, ” Thitinan Organizations: CNN, Manchester City Football Club, UN, Mueang International, Supreme, Thaksin, United Thai Nation Party, Thai, Thai Party, Party, National Institute of Development Administration, Reuters, Facebook, Institute of Security, Studies, Chulalongkorn University, Forward Party Locations: Thailand, New York, Singapore, Bangkok’s, Thai, Don Mueang, Bangkok

Thailand has been under a caretaker government since March and its new parliament has been deadlocked for weeks after anti-establishment election winners Move Forward were blocked by conservative lawmakers, leaving populist heavyweight Pheu Thai to lead a new effort. Srettha said on Monday Pheu Thai had failed to secure the outright majority it had targeted, so its only chance of governing was in partnership with some rivals it had vowed not to work with. Still, he seems determined and confident to follow through this time, however, with widespread speculation that Pheu Thai's alliance with its enemies is part of a behind-the-scenes deal Thaksin may have struck to allow his return. Pheu Thai has denied Thaksin's involvement in its bid to form a government and the former leader has for months denied conspiring with the generals who led coups against him and sister Yingluck Shinawatra in 2006 and 2014. "Tomorrow, at 9 a.m., I want permission to come back to live on Thai soil and breathe the air with other Thai people," Thaksin said on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

Persons: Srettha Thavisin, Athit, Pheu, Thaksin, Thaksin Shinawatra, Srettha, Thai, upstarts, Yingluck Shinawatra, Martin Petty, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS, Ex, Thai Party, English Premier League football, Thaksin, Thomson Locations: Bangkok, Thailand, BANGKOK

Thailand's bicameral parliament has been deadlocked for weeks on forming a government, after the anti-establishment election winner Move Forward succumbed to conservative resistance in parliament, leaving second-placed Pheu Thai to take up the effort. Parliament will vote on Tuesday on the prime ministerial bid of Pheu Thai's Srettha Thavisin, a 60-year-old real estate mogul who was thrust into politics only a few months ago. "To move the Pheu Thai Party forward, to help the people, we are not lying to the people but we have to be realistic," he told a press conference. "Over the past nine years Pheu Thai was not in government, we didn't have power, it is clear people's living standards dropped." Pheu Thai’s bid to form a governmentPheu Thai said it would still forge ahead with changing the constitution to make it more democratic, but would steer clear of amending laws related to the powerful monarchy.

Persons: Srettha Thavisin, Athit, Thaksin, Srettha, Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck Shinawatra, Pheu, Panarat Thepgumpanat, Chayut, Panu, Martin Petty, Robert Birsel, Alison Williams Organizations: REUTERS, Ex, Pheu Thai Party, Pheu, Thai Party, Forward, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Bangkok, Thailand, BANGKOK

☆ Thailand's Pita open to coalition ally leading government if he fails in PM bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BANGKOK, July 15 (Reuters) - Pita Limjaroenrat, leader of Thailand's election winning Move Forward Party, on Saturday raised the prospect of a political ally leading the new government if he fails to become prime minister. "If it becomes clear that Move Forward Party cannot realistically lead government formation then I am... open to having the party that came second, which is Pheu Thai, to lead," Pita said. "All of Move Forward members of parliaments are ready to support Pheu Thai's prime minister candidates," he said. Pheu Thai holds 141 seats in the Lower House, 10 less than Move Forward. Pheu Thai leader Chonlanan Srikaew said on Friday his party will support Pita's bid to become prime minister.

Persons: Pita Limjaroenrat, Pita, Pheu, Srettha Thavisin, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck Shinawatra, Chonlanan Srikaew, Panu, Mike Harrison Organizations: Thomson Locations: BANGKOK, Thai, Lower

☆ Thailand's Thaksin lauds 'disruptors' Move Forward for election triumph
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Chayut Setboonsarng | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Before Sunday's vote, Thaksin's populist political juggernaut had won every election since 2001, despite being ousted from office three times. Move Forward had strong appeal and organisation in university towns, Thaksin said, adding many young people convinced their parents to vote for Move Forward. "Pheu Thai got hammered because we did not disrupt ourselves enough. Move Forward's trend overcame Pheu Thai and the other parties that had money," he said. Thaksin also pledged loyalty to the palace and stressed Pheu Thai would not back any actions by Move Forward that would impact the monarchy.

Her Pheu Thai Party is also leading in recent polls and has won every election since 2001, including two in landslides. If Pheu Thai can win a landslide and be government, we can make change straightaway." Asked about a Move Forward alliance, she said Pheu Thai would join "with parties that support our policies" and ruled out military-backed rivals. Paetongtarn's father Thaksin Shinawatra was prime minister for five years before he was ousted by the military in a 2006 coup. He didn't say he wants to be prime minister," she said.

☆ Thai PM candidate gives birth two weeks before election
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Juarawee Kittisilpa | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BANGKOK, May 1 (Reuters) - Thailand's leading prime ministerial candidate, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, gave birth on Monday to a baby boy two weeks before elections in which she hopes to return to power the populist movement her father and aunt led before army coups ousted them. Paetongtarn, 36, announced the birth on her official Facebook and Instagram accounts with a photo of the newborn. Paetongtarn, who goes by the nickname Ung Ing, has been first or second in polls for voters' favourite prime ministerial candidate throughout the campaign for the May 14 election, trading places with Pita Limjaroenrat of the progressive opposition Move Forward Party. Prayuth, who became a civilian prime minister after 2019 elections, trailed in fourth place in a mid-April poll for favourite prime ministerial candidate with 13.72%. However, Prayuth may have help from the 250-seat upper house Senate, whose appointed members were approved by the military junta Prayuth led for five years.

☆ Thailand dissolves parliament for election
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn has endorsed a decree to dissolve parliament, according to an announcement in the Royal Gazette on Monday, paving the way for elections in May. An election must be held 45 to 60 days after the house dissolution, which takes effect immediately. "This is a return of political decision-making power to the people swiftly to continue democratic government with the King as head of state," said the decree published on Monday. An election date has yet to be announced but Deputy Prime Minster Wissanu Krea-ngam earlier in the day said it would likely be held on May 14, if the house were dissolved on Monday. Thailand's election is expected to showcase a long-running political battle between the billionaire Shinawatra family and the country's conservative pro-military establishment.

☆ Thailand prepares to dissolve parliament ahead of election
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BANGKOK, March 17 (Reuters) - Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Friday he had prepared a decree seeking to dissolve parliament ahead of an election, an expected step as his government heads into the last week of its four-year term. The decree would require approval of Thailand's monarch and would take effect once published in the Royal Gazette. We have to wait for the announcement in the Royal Gazette," Prayuth told reporters in the northern city of Chiang Mai. He will be up against Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra and Yingluck's niece. Paetongtarn, 36, has led Prayuth in opinion polls for months as the top choice for Thailand's next prime minister.

☆ Daughter of Thailand's exiled former PM Thaksin to seek premiership
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BANGKOK, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The daughter of Thailand's self-exiled former leader Thaksin Shinawatra has declared her readiness to run for prime minister in an election this year, as the main opposition seeks to regain power after being ousted in a coup eight years ago. Paetongtarn Shinawatra, whose father Thaksin and aunt Yingluck Shinawatra both led governments toppled by the army, will run under the Pheu Thai Party, the latest incarnation of a populist movement founded by her billionaire family two decades ago. "We want the party to win the election by a landslide so the promises we made to the people can be realised," she said. Both Yingluck and Thaksin are living overseas to avoid jail terms handed down under military rule. Prayuth, 68, joined the new United Thai Nation Party last week, hinting at a bid to remain premier.

☆ Long-serving Thai PM hints at re-election bid under new party
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha unveils as Prime Minister candidate for the United Thai Nation Party (Ruam Thai Sang Chart Party) ahead of a general election this year in Bangkok, Thailand, January 9, 2023. REUTERS/Chalinee ThirasupaBANGKOK, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Thailand's long-serving leader Prayuth Chan-ocha vowed to continue his work running the country under a new political party on Monday, hinting at a bid to remain prime minister after an election this year. "Many things have to continue, and more needs to be done for the country to forge ahead," Prayuth told about 10,000 people at the launch of the new United Thai Nation Party, which he has joined. The new party, led by figures from the country's conservative establishment, has yet to declare its candidate for prime minister. The Constitutional Court last year ruled his first three years in charge did not count towards the maximum eight years a prime minister can serve.

☆ Daughter of Thailand's exiled ex-PM Thaksin leads opinion poll
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterOusted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was deposed in a bloodless 2006 coup, poses with his daughter Paetongtarn during her graduation day at a Bangkok university July 10, 2008. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom (THAILAND)/File PhotoBANGKOK, Sept 26 (Reuters) - The daughter of Thailand's ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup and lives in self-imposed exile, has emerged as a leading candidate for premier in a preliminary opinion poll ahead of elections due next year. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) poll surveyed 2,500 people nation-wide from Sept. 15 to 21. Paetongtarn Shinawatra, known by the nickname "Ung Ing", is an executive in the pro-Thaksin Pheu Thai party and began appearing at party rallies earlier this year. Pheu Thai topped the opinion poll as the favourite party of 34.4% of respondents, followed by "no party" at 24% and the youth-oriented opposition Move Forward party with 13.6%.

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