Madras Times - Sax-playing pilot Anutin's short-lived Thai premiership

The 59-year-old conservative -- who championed Thailand's 2022 decriminalisation of cannabis -- was elected by parliament in September replacing Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was ousted by a court order a week prior.

The support of the opposition People's Party was crucial to his victory, and their key condition was that new elections be called within four months -- which he did in just three.

A royal decree announced Friday that Anutin had dissolved parliament, paving the way for general elections early next year, a move that came during renewed deadly clashes along Thailand and Cambodia's disputed border.

During his three months in office, Anutin has had to deal with that escalating military conflict, which stems from a territorial dispute over ancient temples.

The fighting had displaced half a million people and left at least 15 dead by the time he called for parliamentary dissolution.

When asked about the expected intervention of US President Donald Trump and a call by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim for restraint and diplomacy, Anutin took a hard line, saying no one should tell his country to stop conducting military operations on what it considers a national security threat.

Anutin also had to manage attacks on cyberscam hubs in Myanmar driving hundreds across the border into Thailand, and the death of the former queen Sirikit in October.

- Political scion -

The prime minister took over from the Shinawatra family, who dominated Thai politics for two decades.

The Shinawatras' grip on power is now faltering, with former prime minister and telecom billionaire Thaksin in prison after a court ruled he had improperly served a previous jail term in hospital.

Anutin himself is the scion of another political and business dynasty. His father was acting prime minister during a 2008 political crisis and went on to spend three years as interior minister.

The family fortune centres on Sino-Thai Engineering, a construction firm that has secured lucrative government contracts over the decades, including for the capital's main airport and the parliament building.

A New York-trained industrial engineer, Anutin entered politics in his early 30s as an adviser to the foreign affairs ministry, later becoming health minister, interior minister and deputy prime minister.

Nicknamed "Noo" -- "mouse" in Thai -- he styles himself as a man of the people with a taste for street food despite his wealth.

He appears on social media wearing T-shirts and shorts while stir-frying with a wok, and performing 1980s Thai pop on the saxophone or piano.

- Political chameleon -

Once holding office in Thaksin's party, then named Thai Rak Thai, Anutin was banned from political activity for five years when the party was dissolved in 2007.

Grounded from politics, he learnt to fly, collecting a small fleet of private planes he used to ferry sick people to hospital and deliver donated organs.

He returned as leader of the centre-right Bhumjaithai, whose 2023 third-place finish was their best showing in a general election.

The party has proved to be something of a political chameleon, joining several government coalitions, with Anutin serving as deputy to Thailand's three most recent PMs, including Paetongtarn.

Anutin rose in international prominence by managing tourism-reliant Thailand's pandemic response as health minister under a military-led government.

Bhumjaithai has opposed loosening Thailand's draconian royal insult laws, seen by some as evidence of its conservative instincts.

But Anutin made global headlines when, as health minister, he delivered on a campaign promise to legalise cannabis.

He pulled Bhumjaithai out of the coalition in June following a leaked telephone call between Cambodia's former leader Hun Sen and then-prime minister Paetongtarn over the simmering border dispute.

I.Khatri--MT