Newly elected Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of former leader Thaksin, left notable footprints in Hong Kong, including hosting her high-profile wedding at one of the city’s upscale hotels five years ago.
The 37-year-old leader of the ruling Pheu Thai Party, a former executive in a hotel business run by her family, was elected on Friday as Asia’s youngest leader and only the second woman Thai prime minister after her aunt Yingluck.
Paetongtarn’s victory marked the Shinawatra clan’s return to power in Thailand. Her billionaire father Thaksin was ousted in a military coup in 2006 and spent 15 years in self-imposed exile.
She made waves in Hong Kong in March 2019 when she tied the knot with Pidok Sooksawas, a pilot by training, at the luxurious Rosewood Hong Kong, complete with a lavish banquet. Thai media reported she held shares in the Rosewood Hotel in Bangkok.
The banquet was reportedly attended by about 1,000 celebrities and dignitaries, including Thaksin, Yingluck and Thai Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya, the elder sister of King Vajiralongkorn.
Photos shared on social media showed guests including George Yeo, chairman of the Kerry Logistics Network and a former foreign minister of Singapore; American academic and writer Tom Plate; and Jaesen Ng, who owns a hawker stall in Singapore called Thaksin Beef Noodle.
The grand ballroom, where the banquet was held, was adorned with flowers, with translucent and gold streamers draped from the ceiling. A large photo of the bride and groom spanned an entire wall.
Security at the hotel was tight, with staff stationed throughout the building to ensure only invited guests entered the venue.
In his speech, Thaksin, who was in self-exile at the time to escape criminal charges, thanked guests for attending.
“Thank you for coming for such a quick trip before going home to exercise your rights,” said Thaksin, prime minister from 2001 to 2006.
He added that of his three children, he was the “closest” to Paetongtarn, his youngest daughter.
“By the time she was five years old, I was starting to do well, so I had more time to spend with her,” he noted.
Thaksin returned to Thailand in August 2023 and was paroled in February this year after he was pardoned by the king.
Paetongtarn and Pidok have a son and a daughter. She joined the Pheu Thai Party in 2021 despite not having any government work experience. She was elected the party’s leader in October last year.
Her Instagram account shows that she has been a frequent visitor to Hong Kong, with her latest arrival believed to have been in mid-April, when she posted pictures of herself with her son and daughter at what appears to be Disneyland and Ocean Park.
She later posted a picture of herself with her husband and daughter by Victoria Harbour.
Over the past several years, she has also posted stories of her visiting the Tsz Shan Monastery in Tai Po, the Mui Kee Cookfood Stall restaurant in Mong Kok and dining with her father and aunt in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Since its establishment in 1997, Thailand’s Constitutional Court has ruled that four prime ministers stepped down due to unconstitutionality issues, all of whom were accused of having close ties with Thaksin.
