{"id":9912,"date":"2011-08-07T20:08:16","date_gmt":"2011-08-07T20:08:16","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2011-08-07T20:08:16","modified_gmt":"2011-08-07T20:08:16","slug":"New-Thai-PM-takes-office-with-unity-pledge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?p=9912","title":{"rendered":"New Thai PM takes office with unity pledge"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Thailand&#8217;s new Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra officially took office today with a vow to reunite the troubled nation after years of turmoil following the overthrow of her fugitive brother.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Yingluck, a 44-year-old political novice, was elected as Thailand&#8217;s first female premier in a parliamentary vote on Friday but had to complete formalities including official approval by King Bhumibol Adulyadej.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;His Majesty the King has given his endorsement,&#8221; House Speaker Somsak Kietsuranont told AFP after an audience with the 83-year-old monarch, who has been in hospital since September 2009.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Yingluck swept to an election victory last month with the support of her older brother Thaksin Shinawatra<\/strong>, who is loathed by the elite in government, military and palace circles, and was toppled in a 2006 coup.<\/p>\n<p>Bhumibol, who has reigned for more than six decades, is seen as a stabilizing force in the troubled country but has no official political role.<\/p>\n<p>Yingluck, a businesswoman described by her brother as his &#8220;clone&#8221;, faces the tough challenge of bringing unity to the politically volatile kingdom.<\/p>\n<p>Thaksin, a former telecoms tycoon, lives in self-imposed exile to avoid a jail sentence imposed in his absence for corruption.<\/p>\n<p><strong>His overthrow by the army heralded five years of political crises both in the Thai parliament and on the streets<\/strong>, where his elite-backed foes and his mainly working-class supporters have held crippling rival protests.<\/p>\n<p>The situation escalated last year when more than 90 people, mostly civilians, were killed in clashes between the army and &#8220;Red Shirt&#8221; protesters who largely support Thaksin for his populist policies while in office.<\/p>\n<p>Thaksin or his allies have won the most seats in the past four elections, but the courts reversed the results of the last two polls.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Yingluck has formed a six-party coalition<\/strong>, holding three-fifths of the seats in the lower house of parliament, in an attempt to bolster her hold on power.<\/p>\n<p><strong>She&#8217;s so attractive!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Souce AFP<\/em><br \/>\n<!--break--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thailand&#8217;s new Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra officially took office today with a vow to reunite the troubled nation after 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new Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra officially took office today with a vow to reunite the troubled nation after years","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["News"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":123,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":2,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg",113,170,false],"medium":["https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg",113,170,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u-113x150.jpg",113,150,true]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"Admin","author_link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?author=1"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/53e6cdc30765aade0129f85e5aeb50124b1d3f5bb9a70373be31e4eb328371e0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"<a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link 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