Former Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra Accepts Ouster After Court Ruling on Leaked Call

Thailand’s Constitutional Court has dismissed Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office for an ethics violation, ending her year-long tenure and delivering another major blow to the powerful Shinawatra dynasty that has dominated Thai politics for two decades.

Paetongtarn, 39, Thailand’s youngest-ever prime minister and daughter of influential tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra, becomes the sixth Shinawatra-backed leader to be forced from power by the military or judiciary in the country’s long-running political power struggle.

The court, in a 6–3 ruling, found that Paetongtarn had put personal ties ahead of national interests during a leaked June phone call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen, at a time when Thailand and Cambodia were on the brink of armed conflict. Fighting broke out weeks later and lasted five days.

“Due to a personal relationship that appeared aligned with Cambodia, the respondent was consistently willing to comply with or act in accordance with the wishes of the Cambodian side,” the court said, adding that her actions undermined public trust and damaged Thailand’s reputation.

The verdict forces parliament to select a new prime minister, a process likely to be contentious, with Paetongtarn’s ruling Pheu Thai Party weakened and struggling to hold together a fragile coalition with only a slim majority.

Paetongtarn, who rose to power after the surprise dismissal of her predecessor Srettha Thavisin by the same court last year, apologised for the controversial phone call but maintained she was acting in good faith. “I was trying to prevent war,” she said after the ruling, while pledging to respect the court’s decision.

Her removal marks yet another turning point in Thailand’s bitter, decades-long struggle between the Shinawatra movement and its establishment rivals—an unresolved battle that has repeatedly thrown the kingdom into political turmoil.