According to the Royal Gazette on Tuesday, the nephew of imprisoned former leader Thaksin Shinawatra was appointed deputy prime minister, and the king of Thailand approved the new government of second-term Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.
Yodchanan Wongsawat, the leading candidate of Thaksin’s Pheu Thai party in the general election last month, was awarded one of the six deputy prime minister positions in the cabinet, which is primarily reserved for members of Anutin’s party.
In the February 8 election, Anutin’s Bhumjaithai party secured the most parliamentary seats, placing the conservatives at the forefront of the new government coalition.
But without an outright majority, Bhumjaithai allied with the third-placed Pheu Thai of tech billionaire Thaksin, who is serving a one-year prison sentence for corruption.
Yodchanan, a biomedical engineering professor, was also made minister for higher education, science, research and information.
Anutin himself will pull double-duty, also serving as interior minister.
Bhumjaithai members and its loyalists hold 32 cabinet positions, including the economic and defence portfolios, with several ministers from Anutin’s first short-lived term being re-appointed.
Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow will retain his position as Thailand’s top diplomat, as will the ministers of finance and commerce — all three of whom were also made deputy prime ministers.
The justice and defence ministers also fall within the camp of the pro-military and pro-monarchy Bhumjaithai.
Pheu Thai was allotted nine minister jobs, including agriculture, labour, education and social development.
The new government is expected to offer its policy positions before parliament next week, according to local media.
*
Email *
Website
