BANGKOK -- Paetongtarn Shinawatra was elected Thailand's 31st prime minister on Friday, becoming the country's second female leader and, at 37, the youngest head of government in Asia. She is also the third from her billionaire clan to serve as premier, after the ill-fated tenures of her father Thaksin and aunt Yingluck ended in military coups.
Paetongtarn's rise to power was triggered by the court-ordered removal on Wednesday of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin. A cabinet reshuffle brokered by Thaksin and Yingluck in April saw the appointment of Shinawatra family lawyer Pichit Chuenban to the prime minister's office. The Constitutional Court said Srettha committed an ethical breach due to Pichit's prior bribery conviction.
