Thaksin Shinawatra

Thaksin Shinawatra (Thai: ทักษิณ ชินวัตร, RTGS: Thaksin Chinnawat [tʰák.sǐn tɕʰīn.nā.wát] ^ⓘ; born 26 July 1949) is a Thai businessman and politician who was the 23rd prime minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006. Since 2009 he has also been a citizen of Montenegro.

Thaksin founded the mobile phone operator Advanced Info Service (AIS) and the information technology and telecommunications conglomerate Shin Corporation in 1987, ultimately making him one of the richest people in Thailand. He founded the Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT) in 1998 and, after a landslide electoral victory, became prime minister in 2001. He was the first democratically elected prime minister of Thailand to serve a full term and was re-elected in 2005 by an overwhelming majority.

Thaksin declared a "war on drugs" in which 72 people were killed, though unsupported claims of 2,275 have persisted over the years. Thaksin's government launched programs to reduce poverty, expand infrastructure, promote small and medium-sized enterprises, and extend universal healthcare coverage. Thaksin took a strong-arm approach against the separatist insurgency in the Muslim southern provinces.

His decision to sell shares in his corporation for more than a billion tax-free US dollars generated controversy. A protest movement against Thaksin, called People's Alliance for Democracy or "Yellow Shirts", launched mass demonstrations, accusing him of corruption, abuse of power, and autocratic tendencies. In 2006 Thaksin called snap elections that were boycotted by the opposition and invalidated by the Constitutional Court.

Thaksin was deposed in a military coup on 19 September 2006. His party was outlawed and he was barred from political activity. Thaksin lived in self-imposed exile for 15 years—except for a brief visit to Thailand in 2008—before returning to Thailand in August 2023. During his exile he was sentenced in absentia to two years in jail for abuse of power, and stripped of his Police Rank of Police Lieutenant Colonel.

From abroad, he continued to influence Thai politics through the People's Power Party that ruled in 2008 and its successor organisation Pheu Thai Party, as well as the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship or "Red Shirt" movement. His younger sister Yingluck Shinawatra was prime minister from 2011 to 2014, and his youngest daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been the prime minister since 2024.

Later in exile, Thaksin registered a Clubhouse account under the name "Tony Woodsome", which became his moniker, and frequently held activities on the platform. He also made several announcements expressing his desire to return to Thailand on various social media platforms. Ultimately, Thaksin returned to Thailand on 22 August 2023, and was promptly taken into custody. He was paroled and pardoned in 2024.

In his unfounded and historical return to Thailand after decades of exile, Mr Thaksin faced public scrutiny that his daughter (who is the incumbent PM of Thailand) has made arrangements for his return. This eventually lead to the vote of no-confidence raised by the opposition against his daughter, targeting Mr Thaksin alleged direct influence over his daughter's decision-making, ultimately making him the 'shadow PM of Thailand'.