BANGKOK: Anutin Charnvirakul, who was confirmed by parliament on Friday as Thailand’s new prime minister, is a cautious and pragmatic politician adept at straddling the country’s political divide.
He’s best known for leading a successful campaign to decriminalize cannabis in Thailand. The 58-year-old’s political ambitions have been supported by his family’s wealth and a strong regional power base in Thailand’s northeastern Isan region, where his Bhumjaithai party garners support from the large, rural population.
Anutin’s key skill is his ability to navigate Thailand’s polarized political landscape, which for two decades has been divided between supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the royalist-military establishment.
Anutin served in Thaksin’s government from 2004 until a 2006 military coup. In 2019, leading his own Bhumjaithai party, he became health minister in the government of Thaksin’s arch enemy, former Army Commander Prayuth Chan-ocha. But in 2023, he took the posts of deputy prime minister and interior minister in a coalition government led by the Thaksin-backed Pheu Thai party.
That latest alliance was shattered in June this year, after then Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thaksin’s daughter, spoke indiscreetly during a phone call with Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen about rising tension over disputed territory along the Thailand-Cambodia border that resulted in a five-day armed conflict in July.
Predecessor’s gaffe was his shortcut to power
When Hun Sen leaked audio of the call, Paetongtarn’s chumminess with the Cambodian leader and unflattering reference to a Thai general caused a public uproar.
Anutin quit his Cabinet posts and pulled his party out of her coalition government, leaving it with a bare parliamentary majority. When the Constitutional Court first suspended and then dismissed Paetongtarn for a breach of ethics, it cleared a shortcut for Anutin to become prime minister.
Anutin’s Bhumjaithai party has become known as ”the quintessential power broker,” Thai studies scholars Napon Jatusripitak and Suthikarn Meechan said in an article published online last year.
“This stems from its lack of ideological commitments (except being more pro-monarchy in recent years), aggressive tactics in poaching MPs from other parties, and Teflon-like pragmatism in forming and switching alliances,” they wrote.
Born in Bangkok in 1966, Anutin is the son of politician and construction tycoon Chavarat Charnvirakul.
After studying engineering at Hofstra University in New York, Anutin joined his family’s company, Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction PCL, becoming its managing director in 1995. The firm has been involved in major projects, including Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.
His political career began in 1996 as an adviser to the deputy minister of foreign affairs. He then aligned himself with Thaksin’s Thai Rak Thai party, which took power in 2001. Anutin served in deputy ministerial positions, but after the 2006 military coup, was caught up in the court-ordered dissolutions of Thaksin’s political machine, in which he served as a party executive.
Flying and good food are his passions
Like other senior party members, he was served with a five-year ban on political activity. During the respite he returned to the family business and honed his flying skills on his private aircraft.
His other well-known enthusiasm is gastronomy.
“Dining is always a great pleasure of my life,” he once explained. “I love to search for delicious food and really appreciate the fact that I can take ultimate joy in any kind of cuisine — whether it be street food or luxurious international fare.”
When his political ban ended in 2012, Anutin took over as leader of the Bhumjaithai party, which was already established as an influential political machine in the northeast, leveraging the political acumen of its founder, Newin Chidchob.
After Bhumjaithai ran fifth in the 2019 election, Bhumjaithai joined the government, and Anutin was appointed deputy prime minister and public health minister.
His most significant accomplishment was the 2022 decriminalization of cannabis. He championed the policy for its medical, health, and economic benefits, projecting billions in annual revenue and aiming to reduce the prison population. He also announced plans to distribute 1 million free cannabis plants to households.
The cannabis rollout wasn’t without criticism. The lack of comprehensive regulations led to a proliferation of unregulated dispensaries and concerns about public consumption and access for children, and this year efforts began to more tightly regulate the industry. Anutin maintained that his party’s detailed legislation was blocked by its coalition partners.
As public health minister, Anutin also oversaw Thailand’s COVID-19 response. Although Thailand probably fared no worse than most countries faced with the pandemic, he drew severe criticism for his handling of the crisis, particularly what was perceived as tardiness in obtaining vaccine supplies.
Other would-be scandals have dogged him more recently. These include suspected collusion in last year’s Senate election to give an unfair advantage to some candidates, and his position in a land dispute involving property claimed by the state that has belonged to the family of his Bhumjaithai mentor, Newin Chidchob.