For 25 years, the Shinawatra family has dominated Thai politics — despite facing coups, corruption cases, mass protests, and repeated court battles. From Thaksin Shinawatra, the telecom tycoon turned populist prime minister, to his sister Yingluck Shinawatra, Thailand’s first female leader, and now his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the family’s story is one of power, resilience, and relentless controversy.
00:00In Thailand, few names evoke as much passion, controversy, and political drama as the Shinawatra family.
00:15For over 25 years, this billionaire dynasty has shaped and shaken the kingdom's politics, surviving coups, corruption cases, and court rulings.
00:25From telecom tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra to his sister Ying Luk, and now his daughter Peitong Tharn, the Shinawatra's story is one of power, resilience, and turbulence.
00:37It begins with Thaksin Shinawatra, once a police officer who turned into a billionaire after making his fortune in telecoms.
00:45In 1998, he launched Thai Rock Thai, or Thais Love Thais Party, promising to use his business expertise to uplift the rural poor.
00:56His populist policies, debt relief, cheap health care, and rural development, won him the undying devotion of countryside voters.
01:04But they also earned him powerful enemies among Thailand's pro-monarchy and pro-military establishment, who saw him as a threat to the traditional order.
01:14Re-elected in a landslide, Thaksin made history, leading the first Thai party ever to secure a parliamentary majority alone.
01:22But success came with scandals, corruption allegations, months of protests, and growing hostility from Bangkok elites set the stage for his downfall.
01:33In September 2006, while Thaksin was abroad, the military struck, tanks rolled into Bangkok, and the Shinawatra government was toppled.
01:45Even after losing power, Thaksin made global headlines.
01:49Despite his frozen Thai assets, he purchased English football club Manchester City in 2007, and later sold it for a hefty profit.
01:59By 2008, facing criminal charges, Thaksin went into exile.
02:05But exile did not mean silence.
02:07From abroad, he continued to comment on Thailand's affairs, or, according to critics, meddle in them.
02:13Though Thaksin was gone, his influence remained.
02:17After the 2006 coup, Thai Rock Thai was dissolved.
02:21Its successor, the People's Power Party, briefly held power under Thaksin's brother-in-law, Samchai Wongsawat.
02:30But the courts dismantled it too, leading to a rebirth, few Thai.
02:35This party catapulted Thaksin's sister Yingluck into the spotlight in 2011.
02:42Yingluck, whom Thaksin once called his clone, was mocked as a political novice.
02:47Yet she swept into power with her brother's back end.
02:51For a time, she courted the military, but the truce didn't last.
02:56A controversial amnesty bill, seen as a backdoor for Thaksin's return, ignited mass protests.
03:03Bangkok's streets burned with unrest.
03:06Dozens were killed, hundreds wounded.
03:08In 2014, her premiership collapsed after a court ruling.
03:14And weeks later, the military once again seized power.
03:18Years later, Thaksin turned to his youngest daughter, Petongtarn Shinawatra.
03:24Coming from the family's hotel empire, she entered politics in 2023.
03:30Despite being heavily pregnant, Petongtarn tirelessly campaigned under the sweltering Thai sun,
03:36leading rallies across the nation.
03:39Phu Tai didn't win outright, but secured power through an uneasy alliance with former pro-military rivals.
03:47Petongtarn rose quickly, becoming prime minister in August 2024,
03:52after the constitutional court disqualified the party's first choice, Shretha Thavisun.
03:58Much like Yingluck before her, critics called Petongtarn a puppet of her father.
04:05In August 2023, on the very day Phu Tai regained power, Thaksin returned home after years in exile.
04:12Immediately arrested, he was sentenced to eight years in jail.
04:16But within hours, he was transferred to a police hospital on health grounds.
04:20Soon after, his sentence was cut by the king.
04:23Just six months later, Thaksin was a free man, without spending a single day behind bars.
04:30That leniency sparked outrage.
04:32A new court case now probes whether Thaksin evaded his sentence improperly.
04:37And now, the dynasty faces its gravest test.
04:41Just last month, the constitutional court suspended Paiatongtarn from office,
04:46probing her actions during a diplomatic row with Cambodia.
04:50The court's ruling expected next week could sack her as prime minister.
04:55And with no other Shinawatras ready to take the mantle,
04:58the family's decades-long grip on Thai politics may finally be slipping away.
05:03From billionaire beginnings to political dominance,
05:07from exile to comebacks,
05:09the Shinawatras have defined a generation of Thai politics.
05:13Loved by millions, despised by elites,
05:16they remain both a symbol of democracy's promise and its fragility in Thailand.
05:21But as Paiatongtarn awaits her fate,
05:24one question looms,
05:26is this truly the end of the Shinawatras,
05:29or just another chapter in their turbulent saga?
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