Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the 37-year-old leader of Thailand’s Pheu Thai party, has been elected as the country’s prime minister by the Thai parliament. With this appointment, Shinawatra became Thailand’s youngest prime minister and the country’s second female prime minister after her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra. Shinawatra hails from Thailand’s politically influential Shinawatra family and is the daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand’s former prime minister. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science, sociology and anthropology from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, and is also an alumnus of UK’s University of Surrey. Shinawatra has a strong family background in politics and began her career in the field as Pheu Thai party’s innovation and inclusiveness committee director in 2021.