Who is Srettha Thavisin, Thailand's next prime minister?

Thai parliament members approved real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin as the kingdom's new prime minister on Tuesday, ending three months of political deadlock on the day former premier Thaksin Shinawatra returned from exile.

Srettha easily secured a majority across the two houses of parliament to be approved as Thailand's 30th prime minister, despite his Pheu Thai party coming second in the May election.

He sailed past the 375 votes needed for a majority of elected lower house MPs and senators appointed by the last military government.

Who is Srettha Thavisin?

Property tycoon Srettha Thavisin is the standard-bearer of Pheu Thai.

The 60-year-old successful entrepreneur is well-liked by business leaders, who come from the more conservative Thai elite, according to Thai news articles.

Because of his business connections, the Bangkok-born businessman is seen as a more palatable candidate for the establishment.

With a towering height of 1.93 metres (6'4" feet), Srettha, nicknamed 'Nid' (meaning "little"), was a dominant figure during the May 2023 campaign for parliament, in which Pheu Thai had expected to win by a landslide. Instead, they landed second place with 141 seats behind MFP, which won 151 seats.

Businessman

According to Khaosod, a Thai news website, Srettha is considered "a representative of liberal political ideas, but not too extreme."

As head of the multi-billion dollar real estate company, Sansiri, the US-trained businessman, also had experience in governing an organisation.

"He stresses the importance of addressing the problems of economic and social inequality that need to be solved," Khaosod wrote of the 60-year-old MP, who only entered politics in 2022 after decades spent in business, including the multi-national company, Procter and Gamble.

In a pre-emptive move last week against a detractor, Srettha defended his role at Sansiri as well as the transactions the company entered into while he was the CEO.

He said allegations that his company made illegal land purchase for one of its luxury condominium projects were "deliberate misinformation". Previously, Srettha had filed a multi-million baht defamation case against the same accuser.

Given his reputation among the more conservative Thai elites, however, Sreetha's backers are confident that he could convince enough of the 250 senators to vote for him that bring him to the finish line.

Thai elites are known to be supportive of the monarchy, and Srettha had already vowed that he will not support any move to amend laws affecting the royal family.

"There will certainly be no amending of Section 112," he said when asked earlier about his stand on the issue.

"Pheu Thai has made it clear that the law will not be amended or abolished. If we want to see the country move forward and a new government successfully set up, the Section 112 issue must be set aside."

'Straight-talking' politician

Srettha is married for over 34 years to a medical specialist in elderly care and they have three children together.

A Voice of America (VoA) article published during the May campaign season described Srettha as "straight-talking" politician who "lacks the instant sparkle that generates mass appeal" but has "business acumen that could evoke the confidence of millions of voters" and "a flair for brand building".

Strettha also won the crucial support of Pheu Thai's founder, Thaksin, who is himself a businessman.

In his interview with VoA, Srettha told VoA that his decades of friendship with his fellow businessman, Thaksin, led him to politics. He also said that the despair he felt after the ouster of Thaksin and his sister, as well as the military takeover that followed played in his decision to enter politics last year.

In the same interview, Srettha expressed his disdain for the military takeover of Thailand, and said that he would not be able to govern with them.

But with many military-backed senators and House members supporting his candidacy, it appears that the businessman's pragmatic attitude towards politics had prevailed. Now the real task of governing begins.