Tycoon who led push to decriminalise cannabis becomes Thai PM

Anutin Charnvirakul voted in by parliament after promising election in four months, as Thaksin Shinawatra jets out

Anutin Charnvirakul, a staunch royalist, has been appointed by lawmakers as Thailand’s next prime minister after days of heated negotiations and political drama.

The 58-year-old tycoon turned politician is considered a conservative, though he made a name for himself for leading a campaign to decriminalise cannabis. He was voted in after a chaotic scramble by parties to gain enough support to replace the ousted PM, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was removed from office by a court ruling.

Friday’s vote is a major setback for Paetongtarn’s family, one of the country’s most influential and polarising political dynasties. Thaksin Shinawatra, Paetongtarn’s billionaire father and a former leader himself, suddenly left the country by private jet the night before the vote, prompting a frenzy of speculation. He is due to appear in court on Tuesday, when judges will rule on whether he has adequately served his sentence for previous convictions.

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Anutin, an experienced politician, comes from a family that owns one of Thailand’s biggest construction companies, which built Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport, as well as parliament itself.