On Friday, Thailand elected the country's first female prime minister after more than half of the parliament backed Yungluck Shinawatra. She now has to be formally approved by Thailand's king before she is officially allowed to take office. Shinawatra will be the country's 28th prime minister. She won 296 votes in the nearly 500-member parliament. “The first thing I want to do is help people on their economic situation,” she said last month. The new PM is the younger sister of one of Thailand's most polarizing political figures, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup. He left the country two years later after being convicted on conflict of interest charges — accusations he denies. The new PM's critics worry she will do her brother's bidding, an accusation she has repeatedly been forced to deny. “There is a lot more hard work to do in the future for the well-being of our sisters and brothers, the people of Thailand,” she said last month. “There are many things to accomplish to make reconciliation possible, paving the way for a solid foundation for a flourishing nation.” BM
