Yingluck Shinawatra, first female prime minister of Thailand
Yingluck Shinawatra, nicknamed Pu or Pou, is a Thai businesswoman and politician, member of the Pheu Thai Party, the 28th Prime Minister of Thailand following the 2011 general election. [Wikipedia]
Yingluck Shinawatra was Thailand’s first female Prime Minister and the youngest sister of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Prior to becoming Prime Minister, she chaired the executive committee of SC Asset, the family’s property development company. Yingluck was also a director of the Thaicom Foundation, which supports underprivileged children in education.
Yingluck is married to a businessman, Anusorn Amornchat, and has one son, Supasek Amornchat. Both have fully supported her to serve the country. She was born on 21 June, 1967.
Ms. Yingluck's rice price support program helped her win votes from rural Thai farmers in 2011. But it has become a key weakness threatening her political career. The protests resulted in her disbanding Parliament and managing now in a caretaker capacity, all of which has stopped budget disbursements for key infrastructure projects.
The program, in which rice was purchased from local farmers at up to 50% above market prices, ran into cash flow problems in late 2013. That forced the government to grapple with securing 120 billion baht—about $3.7 billion—to pay farmers. Many of them haven't been paid in months.
Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in the 18th coup of Thailand in 2006 and later convicted of corruption charges that he says were politically motivated. Mr. Thaksin has been living in self-imposed exile to avoid prison time, but protesters accuse him of using his sister as a proxy, which Ms. Yingluck denies.
Legal cases against Ms. Yingluck's beleaguered government have gained pace. Thailand's Constitutional Court on March 21, 2014, nullified the Feb. 2 general election, dealing a setback to Ms. Yingluck, who hoped to reassert her mandate.
On 7 May 2014, the Constitutional Court of Thailand ordered Yingluck Shinawatra to step down following months of political crisis. The Court found her guilty of charges of abuse of power over the transfer of national security Chief Thawil Pliensri in 2011.
On 23 May 2014 Yingluck was arrested along with former cabinet ministers and political leaders, in the wake of a military coup which had occurred the previous day. She was taken with two family members to an army camp in central Thailand. A military official said she would be detained for up to a week while the coup was consolidated.
