Paetongtarn Shinawatra

Some Lesser Known Facts About Paetongtarn Shinawatra

• Paetongtarn Shinawatra hails from the influential Shinawatra political family in Bangkok.

  

• Paetongtarn was closely involved in her father’s political career from a young age. When she was 8 years old, she used to go to her father’s office when he became foreign minister.

• She gained attention at the age of 18 when she worked a part-time job at McDonald’s. It gained considerable notice when her father, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was then serving as Thailand’s Prime Minister, paid her a visit at work.

  

• At 20, she took refuge in a safe house while the military took over Bangkok and her father’s government was overthrown. Two years later, she saw her father leave Thailand to escape a corruption charge he said was unfair.

• Before entering politics, Paetongtarn managed her family’s businesses, which included real estate, hotels, and golf courses.

• In 2011, she became the director of Rende Ploenchit Hotel Co. Ltd. in Bangkok.

• In 2012, she became the director of Rende Development Co. Ltd., Bangkok. In the same year, she was appointed as the chief executive officer of Hotel and Golf Course Business Group and Rende Development Co. Ltd.

• In 2013, Paetongtarn became the director of Thames Valley Khao Yai Hotel Co. Ltd.

• In 2016, she joined Alpine Golf and Sports Club Co. Ltd. as a director. In the same year, she also became the director of Alpine Garden Design Co. Ltd. and OAI Consultant and Management Co. Ltd.

• Paetongtarn met Pitaka Suksawat, a former commercial pilot, through Khanapoj Joemrith, who is Pitaka’s cousin and a close friend of Paetongtarn. The duo soon fell in love and got married in 2019, after dating for 2 years.

• Paetongtarn is a major stakeholder in her several family-owned businesses including SC Asset Corporation, a real estate company. By 2022, she managed about 21 companies with a combined value of about ฿68 billion (US$2 billion).

• She also serves as a director of the Thaicom Foundation, which helps people in Thailand learn and grow, aiming to make them aware and ready to be global citizens.

• Paetongtarn advocates for LGBTQ+ rights. She participated in the 2023 Bangkok Pride Parade along with Move Forward Party’s Pita Limjaroenrat.

  

• In May 2024, she criticised the law that kept the Bank of Thailand separate from the government. She said that the bank’s high 2.50% interest rate affected small businesses and the economy. She argued that the bank’s policies were not helping and were making it harder to reduce debt.

• On 16 August 2024, Paetongtarn became the 31st Prime Minister of Thailand after Srettha Thavisin was removed from office by the Constitutional Court for appointing a convicted lawyer as a minister.

  

• She became the youngest Prime Minister of Thailand and the second woman to hold the position.

• Paetongtarn aims to change the constitution and end mandatory military service but is against altering Thailand’s lèse-majesté laws, which protect the monarchy.

• Even though Paetongtarn and the Pheu Thai Party once decided not to team up with military-linked parties like the United Thai Nation Party and Palang Pracharath Party, their government ended up including both, which upset many people.

• In 2024, she expressed her support for ‘capitalism with empathy,’ with plans to gradually increase the minimum wage and implement a ฿10,000 digital wallet program.

• In 2024, critics raised concerns about Shinawatra’s involvement in the sale of a piece of land in Pathum Thani, which is now the site of Alpine Golf Club. The land was originally donated to a temple, but it was later sold to a company where Paetongtarn served as a shareholder. The sale led to legal challenges and criticism from activists who urged her to return the land to avoid risking her political career.

• Paetongtarn loves travelling and often shares her travel experiences on social media.

  

• She consumes alcohol occasionally.