Thailand saw its third person helming the prime minister's office in a week on Thursday, as the king swore in a new cabinet after a court decision plunged the nation's top office into turmoil.
The prime minister's office was upheaved on Tuesday when the Constitutional Court suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra pending an ethics probe which could take months.
Power passed to transport minister and deputy prime minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit who took office for only one full day, as the bombshell was dropped in an awkward interim ahead of the reshuffle.
Former defence minister Phumtham Wechayachai was sworn in as interior minister by the king on Thursday morning, taking on a deputy prime minister role outranking Suriya's -- thus becoming the acting premier.
The Thai government said in a statement on social media that the new cabinet approved Phumtham's role as acting prime minister at its first meeting.
Before Paetongtarn was ousted she assigned herself the role of culture minister in the new cabinet, meaning she has kept a perch in the upper echelons of power.
The revolving door of leadership comes as the kingdom is battling to revive a spluttering economy and secure a US trade deal averting President Donald Trump's looming threat of a 36 percent tariff.
- 'Big Comrade' at the helm -
Phumtham is considered a loyal lieutenant to the suspended Paetongtarn and her father Thaksin Shinawatra, the powerful patriarch of a dynasty which has dominated Thai 21st-century politics.
Thaksin-linked parties have been jousting with the pro-military, pro-conservative establishment since the early 2000s, but analysts say the family's political brand has now entered decline.
The 71-year-old Phumtham earned the nickname "Big Comrade" for his association with a left-wing youth movement of the 1970s, but transitioned to politics through a role in Thaksin's telecoms empire.
In previous cabinets he held the defence and commerce portfolios, and spent a spell as acting prime minister after a crisis engulfed the top office last year.
Thailand's suspended Prime minister and newly-sworn in Culture minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra leaves the Government House after a cabinet meeting in Bangkok on July 3, 2025. (AFP)
Paetongtarn has been hobbled over a longstanding territorial dispute between Thailand and Cambodia, which boiled over into cross-border clashes in May, killing one Cambodian soldier.
When she made a diplomatic call to Cambodian ex-leader Hun Sen, she called him "uncle" and referred to a Thai military commander as her "opponent", according to a leaked recording causing widespread backlash.
A conservative party abandoned her ruling coalition -- sparking the cabinet reshuffle -- accusing her of kowtowing to Cambodia and undermining the military.
The Constitutional Court said there was "sufficient cause to suspect" Paetongtarn breached ministerial ethics in the diplomatic spat.
"Big Comrade"
Phumtham earned his moniker over links in his youth to a 1970s student movement that rallied against the architect of a military coup, before their protests were violently crushed.
He fled to the jungle where communist guerrillas were plotting uprisings against the nation's military, and recently he has been questioned over his associations.
But the 71-year-old has successfully transitioned into the limelight from a business role in the empire of Thaksin Shinawatra, the founding force of a dynasty which has dominated Thai politics for decades.
Phumtham has held the defence and commerce portfolios, and had a previous spell as acting prime minister after a crisis engulfed the top office last year.
- Suburban revolutionary -
Born in the suburbs of Bangkok, Phumtham was nicknamed "Auan", meaning "Chubby", by his parents.
He earned a political science degree from a top Thai university and joined the student movement that took to the streets in 1976, opposing the return of military dictator Thanom Kittikachorn.
His childhood nickname belied his slim-faced appearance in a black-and-white photo of the protests, showing him brandishing speech papers with a microphone in hand.
The uprising ended in a bloody crackdown known as the "Thammasat Massacre" that killed at least 40 students and remains today one of the country's most notorious instances of protest bloodshed.
Unofficial estimates suggest the death toll could have been as high as 500, because live ammunition was used to quell the unrest.
Students from Thailand's elite universities fled into the jungle to join guerilla movements.
When Phumtham became defence minister last year he faced a grilling by the conservative and pro-military establishment who accused him of being a card-carrying communist.
"I went to escape the violence," he insisted. "It was not only me, there were other students too."
Despite his protestations, his links to the movement earned him a second alias: "Big Comrade".
Phumtham's reputation has softened since his firebrand formative years, and he is now known as a composed and diplomatic operator.
He will step into the acting prime minister role after the Constitutional Court suspended Paetongtarn pending an ethics probe which could take months.
In the brief interim between the court decision and Phumtham being sworn in as part of a cabinet reshuffle, transport minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit has been acting premier.
- Dynasty lieutenant -
Phumtham's rise has mirrored that of Thaksin, whose dynastic parties have been jousting with the country's pro-monarchy, pro-military establishment since the early 2000s.
In the 1990s Phumtham was employed by the Thaksin-founded telecom giant Shin Corp, before entering politics full-time in 2001.
He served as deputy secretary-general of the Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party, founded by Thaksin, and was appointed deputy transport minister in 2005.
After Thaksin was ousted in a coup, the party was dissolved and Phumtham was slapped with a five-year ban from politics.
But the movement remained a potent force, with Thaksin's sister and brother-in-law both having stints as prime minister.
Paetongtarn was appointed in August, with the backing of the family's Pheu Thai party.
Phumtham, considered Thaksin's confidant, appeared by Paetongtarn's side as she gave her first press conference as leader.
Although he will be stepping into her shoes, he has signalled he remains loyal to the Shinawatra dynasty and told journalists he believes she will "survive the probe".
(AFP)
