Art of the deal: How Anutin outwitted rivals to become Thailand’s PM
Anutin Charnvirakul has returned as Thailand’s prime minister after winning majority support from the newly elected House of Representatives on March 19.
He received 293 votes, most of them from parties forming the new coalition government, compared to 119 votes for his only rival, the opposition People’s Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut.
The Bhumjaithai Party leader, 59, will officially take office after receiving royal endorsement. He is also constitutionally required to present his government’s policies to Parliament before his administration begins work.
He returns to power after his party won the February 8 election by an unexpectedly large margin, securing 192 seats against 120 for the People’s Party, which had led pre-poll opinion surveys.
Anutin’s decisive victory cleared the way for Bhumjaithai to assemble a new coalition government. Bhumjaithai chose to partner with former rivals Pheu Thai, which contributed 74 MPs, plus 13 smaller parties, each holding one to five seats. Notably absent was Klatham – its main ally in the prior government – which was excluded from the new coalition despite securing 58 seats.
Embracing former rivals
Klatham played a key supporting role in Anutin’s ascent to the premiership last September. However, it was the surprise backing of the People’s Party, which lacked a PM candidate despite holding the most MPs in the House, that secured the top post for Anutin.
The main opposition party agreed to support Bhumjaithai’s bid for power in exchange for its help in amending the Constitution to allow a new charter to be written.
Anutin also promised to dissolve the House within four months but instead did so after barely two months in office, as threats of a censure motion hung over his minority government.
Analysts credited Bhumjaithai’s victory in February's election to strong support from conservatives and nationalists, as the party rode a surge of patriotism triggered by last year’s border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia.
The People’s Party's move to back Anutin without joining his government had also allowed him to secure control over Cabinet posts.
His subsequent decision to appoint several technocrats and business chiefs as ministers helped boost Bhumjaithai's popularity ahead of the national vote and transform it from a Buri Ram-based “provincial party” into Thailand’s dominant political force.
Anutin was born in Bangkok on September 13, 1966, as heir to the Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction (STECON) conglomerate built by his father, Chavarat Charnvirakul, a veteran politician who co-founded Bhumjaithai alongside powerbroker Newin Chidchob in 2008.
After earning an industrial engineering degree from Hofstra University in New York, he returned to Thailand to lead the family-owned business, serving as company president from 1995 to 2004.
Despite his privileged background and disclosed family assets of over 4.4 billion baht (US$136 million), Anutin has managed to craft a reputation as a man of the people.
He promotes his “common man” image with frequent posts about his favourite streetside eateries, accompanied by photos of himself in T-shirts and shorts.
Third decade in politics
Anutin made his political debut in 2000 with the Thai Rak Thai Party led by former PM Thaksin Shinawatra. In 2006, he was banned from politics for five years after the party was dissolved by court order.
During his break from politics, Anutin learned to fly and began collecting aircraft, starting with a four-seater. What began as a hobby soon became a public relations tool when he began transporting patients and donated organs across the country.
In 2014, after learning that a surgeon friend had spent years relying on commercial flights to collect donor organs, Anutin personally flew him to Udon Thani province to pick up a donated heart.
In 2024, Anutin was awarded the Thai Sky Doctor pin by the National Institute for Emergency Medicine for his role in transporting at least 44 life-saving organs.
After his political ban ended in 2012, Anutin joined Bhumjaithai, then led by his father, assuming the party leadership at age 46 with the backing of Chavarat and Newin.
Anutin has held multiple ministerial portfolios over the past two decades: deputy commerce minister in 2004, deputy public health minister in 2005, public health minister from 2019 to 2023, and interior minister from 2023 to June 2025.
He also served as deputy prime minister to his three immediate predecessors – General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Srettha Thavisin, and Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
As public health minister in Prayut’s government, Anutin earned both praise and criticism for his handling of the COVID-19 crisis and vaccination programme.
He later oversaw the legalisation of medicinal cannabis in 2022 – a policy that cemented his party’s reputation as a force to be reckoned with in Thai politics.