Anutin Charnvirakul has returned to power after winning a fresh mandate on Thursday following a Parliamentary vote in a country plagued by political drama and turmoil.
Anutin of the Bhumjaithai Party is the 32nd minister and was re-elected after he secured 293 votes out of the 500 lawmakers in the lower house.
He surpassed the required minimum of 249. While 86 lawmakers abstained from the votes, his closest rival garnered 119 votes.
In the leadup to the vote, Anutin, pledged to get to work immediately on forming a cabinet and solving Thailand's problems.
"Your voices are equally heard," he said while speaking to opposition lawmakers.
"I'm ready to accept suggestions so I can carry out my duty as head of government. We all have the same goals - the wellbeing of the people." he added
Anutin, with Chinese ancestry, comes from a fairly strong political background.
His father, Chavarat Charnvirakul, founder of the Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction Company, also ventured into politics and briefly served as Thailand's acting prime minister in 2008, besides other short stints in the Ministry of Interior and Health.
After an engineering degree in the United States, Anutin followed his father's path, leading the family construction company before joining politics.
He joined the administration of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a policeman who became a tycoon and later a politician.
Thaksin's populist Thai Rak Thai party was dissolved by a court order, and the verdict also resulted in a 5-year political ban for Anutin.
Anutin, 59, was first elected prime minister for the first time on 5th September, 2025 at a time when there was relative peace between his country and neighbouring Cambodia.
Hostilities resumed between both neighbours in December 2025 leading to the death of at least 40 people and the displacement of around one million others.
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