Yingluck elected prime minister [-When will Cambodia have a female PM to replace Hoon Xhen?]

Pheu Thai Party list MP Yingluck Shinawatra (centre) is elected Thailand's 28th prime minister by a majority vote in the House of Representatives on August 5, 2011. (Photo by Kitja Aphichonrojarek)

5/08/2011
Bangkok Post

Pheu Thai Party list MP Yingluck Shinawatra was elected Thailand's 28th prime minister by a majority vote in the House of Representatives on Friday morning.

A total of 296 MPs voted in support of Ms Yingluck, the country’s first female prime minister, while three Democrat MPs voted against her, with 197 abstentions - including Ms Yingluck, the new speaker and one of his deputies, and most members of the main opposition parties, the Democrat and Bhumjaithai parties, and lone wolf Chuwit Kamolvisit.

The meeting to elect the new prime minister started about 10am, chaired by House Speaker Somsak Kiatsuranont.

Thai king endorses new premier

Sep 18, 2008
DPA

Bangkok - Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Thursday officially endorsed the premiership of Somchai Wongsawat, the brother-in-law of coup-ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The Thai parliament voted 298 to 163 in favour of Somchai's nomination as prime minister on Wednesday but under Thailand's constitutional monarchy the appointment is not official until it is approved by King Bhumibol, who is head of state.

House Speaker Chai Chidchob flew to Bhumibol's palace in Hua Hin, 150 kilometres south-west of Bangkok, Thursday afternoon to present Somchai's appointment to the king, who endorsed it.

Somchai, now Thailand's 26th prime minister, is expected to name a new cabinet over the weekend which may be presented to the king for approval by Monday.

The finance and foreign minister posts are expected to go to 'outsiders,' while the rest of the ministerial positions will be divided between the People Power Party (PPP), which Somchai belongs to, and their five coalition partners.

The new government faces a host of problems including a rapidly falling stock market, border disputes over ancient Hindu temples with its neighbour Cambodia and the lack of office space.

Government House, the traditional seat of the administration, was taken over by thousands of followers of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) on August 26 and has been held hostage since.

The PAD was initially demanding the resignation of former prime minister Samak Sundaravej, until he lost his post on September 9 when the Constituion court found him guilty of moonlighting by hosting television cooking shows.

The PAD, a loose coalition of groups staunchly opposed to Thaksin and his return to power, accused Samak of being a 'proxy' for the coup-ousted premier.

The movement has now vowed to remain at Government House unless Somchai meets their demands, which include, among others, the revoking of Thaksin's diplomatic passport and pursuing corruption cases against him.

Somchai, 61, is married to Yaowapa, the younger sister of Thaksin who was toppled by a military coup on September 19, 2006, after holding the premiership since 2001.

Despite his close connections to Thaksin, Somchai is deemed a compromiser who is best suited among the PPP candidates to smooth over Thailand's political crisis.

A former judge and bureaucrat at the Justice Ministry, Somchai became acting prime minister after Samak lost his job a week ago.

Thaksin's Brother-in-law Elected As New Thai PM

Thailand's Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, center, is surrounded by aides after his meeting with cheering supporters outside Parliament Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008 in Bangkok, Thailand. Lawmakers elected Somchai, a brother-in-law of deposed leader Thaksin Shinawatra as the new prime minister of Thailand on Wednesday, setting up a showdown with protesters determined to tear down his political legacy. Somchai, a 61-year-old bureaucrat who is married to Thaksin's sister, won a firm majority of votes in the lower house of Parliament, backed by the governing six-party coalition. (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong)

2008-09-17
The Nation

BANGKOK, THAILAND: Somchai Wongsawat, brother in law of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, became the 26th Thai prime minister after winning voting in the parliament on Wednesday (17 Sept).

Somchai, deputy leader of People Power Party, won 298 to 163 over Democrat party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva. Five abstained.

House Speaker Chai Chidchob announced Somchai's victory after about an hour of voting.

PPP MPs voted for Somchai on Wednesday after difference over the nomination inside the party was settled on Tuesday (16 Sept). A faction in the PPP on Monday vowed not to vote for Somchai.

Somchai is married to Yaowapa, the younger sister of former prime minister Thaksin.

Yaowapa was a member of the now-defunct Thai Rak Thai Party and lost her voting right when the party was dissolved. His daughter Chinnicha is the youngest female MP in the current House of Representatives.

Political observers said Somchai's strength lies in his soft and gentle character, which is why he would be the perfect person to negotiate an end to political tensions with the anti-government group, People's Alliance for Democracy.

Somchai was justice permanent secretary from 1999 to 2006, and then became permanent secretary for the Labour Ministry.

In 2003, when Somchai was permanent secretary of justice, he made headlines for conflicting with then-justice minister Purachai Piumsombun over the ministry's budget.