Yingluck Shinawatra

Yingluck Shinawatra (Thai: ยิ่งลักษณ์ ชินวัตร, RTGS: Yinglak Chinnawat, pronounced [jîŋ.lák tɕʰīn.nā.wát] ; born 21 June 1967) is a Thai businesswoman, politician and a member of the Pheu Thai Party who was the 28th prime minister of Thailand from 2011 to 2014. Yingluck was Thailand's first female prime minister and its youngest in over 60 years since the Siamese revolution of 1932. She was removed from office on 7 May 2014 by a Constitutional Court decision.

Born in Chiang Mai Province into a wealthy family of Chinese descent, Yingluck Shinawatra earned a bachelor's degree from Chiang Mai University and a master's degree from Kentucky State University, both in public administration. She then became an executive in the businesses founded by her elder brother, Thaksin Shinawatra and later became the president of property developer SC Asset and managing director of Advanced Info Service. Thaksin served as prime minister from 2001 until 2006 when he was overthrown by a military coup. He fled abroad shortly before he was convicted in absentia of using his position to increase his own wealth. Thereafter, he lived in self-imposed exile to avoid serving his prison sentence until he returned to Thailand in August 2023.

In May 2011, the Pheu Thai Party, which maintains close ties to Thaksin, nominated Yingluck as their candidate for Prime Minister in the 2011 election. She campaigned on a platform of national reconciliation, poverty eradication, and corporate income tax reduction and won a landslide victory.

After mass protests against her government in late 2013, she asked for a dissolution of parliament on 9 December 2013, triggering a snap election, but continued to act as caretaker prime minister. On 7 May 2014, the Constitutional Court of Thailand removed Yingluck Shinawatra from the office of caretaker prime minister and defence minister following months of political crisis. The court found her guilty of charges of abuse of power over the removal of national security chief Thawil Pliensri in 2011. In the wake of the May 2014 military coup, Yingluck was arrested along with former cabinet ministers and political leaders of all parties, and held at an army camp for a few days while the coup was consolidated.