ENERGY, YOUTH
Known in Thailand by her nickname Ung Ing, Paetongtarn is the youngest child of Thaksin, a policeman turned telecoms tycoon who won two elections in the early 2000s.
She grew up in Bangkok, steeped in the country’s tumultuous politics as an ambitious Thaksin charted his meteoritic rise to wealth and then launched the Thai Rak Thai Party in 1998.
“When I was eight years old, my father entered politics. Since that day, my life has also been intertwined with politics,” she said in a speech in March.
Thaksin found his way to the premiership by 2001 and expanded spending on healthcare, rural development and farming subsidies – dubbed “Thaksinomics” for the poor.
He was ejected by a military coup in 2006.
Entering university in Thailand after his unceremonious ouster, Paetongtarn described those years as some of her toughest, when she was also accused of cheating.
“At times, I would see pictures of my father pinned to the wall, crossed out and drawn on,” she said in her March speech.
“At the age of 20, being surrounded by hate was very difficult to overcome.”
