The Thai parliament elected Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of billionaire tycoon and former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, as prime minister, the BBC reports.
At 37, she will be the country's youngest prime minister and the second woman to hold the position, after her aunt Jingluk. Her election comes just two days after former Prime Minister Sreta Tavisin was dismissed by the Constitutional Court. Both are from the Peu Tai party, which came second in the 2023 election but formed a ruling coalition.
Paetongtarn is the fourth member of the Shinawatra clan to become prime minister in the last two decades.
Taksin and Jingluk were overthrown by military coups or decisions of the constitutional court.
Taksin Šinavatra has a Montenegrin passport.
The BBC says the circumstances surrounding the appointment of Paetongtarn Shninavatra are a stark reminder of how limited the power of elected governments is in Thailand.
On Thursday, Paetongtarn said she admired Sreta Tavisin's work and thought his dismissal was unfortunate.
"We gathered here today to show people that we are determined, driven and ready to push the country forward," she told reporters Thursday at her party's headquarters, where she was proposed as a candidate for the move.
Educated at elite schools in Thailand and university in the UK, she spent several years working at the Shinawatra family's Rende hotel group, where her husband is deputy chief investment officer.
She joined the Peu Tai Party in 2021 and was appointed party leader in October 2023.
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