Why Thailand’s new PM is called the ‘cannabis king'

Thailand has a new prime minister.

Anutin Charnvirakul, 58, the heir to a massive construction fortune and a proponent of cannabis, has ascended to the top job after days of suspense.

The development comes after Thailand’s Constitutional Court removed Paetongtarn Shinawatra for ethics violations. Paetongtarn is the daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra, a former prime minister and telecoms billionaire whose family, through their Pheu Thai party, has dominated Thai politics for two decades.

Charnvirakul, who is chief of Thailand’s Bhumjaithai (Pride of Thailand) Party, will be the country’s third prime minister in two years. He is the son of Chavarat Charnvirakul, a businessman-politician who previously served as caretaker prime minister of Thailand.

“I must say, I’ve been ready to be prime minister since 2019,” Charnvirakul said last week.

But what do we know about Charnvirakul, who is known as Thailand’s ‘cannabis king’?

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Who is he?

Charnvirakul was born in Bangkok in 1966. He attended an all-boys private school in Bangkok before heading to the United States. He studied industrial engineering at New York’s Hofstra University.

He returned to Thailand and joined his father’s construction company, Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction PCL, in 1990, becoming the firm’s managing director in 1995. The company has been involved in several major projects, including Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.

In 1996, Charnvirakul left the private sector for a political career, beginning as an adviser to the deputy minister of foreign affairs. In 2001, he joined Thaksin’s Thai Rak Thai party as deputy minister of public health. He later served as deputy health minister and deputy commerce minister in 2004, and again as deputy health minister in 2005.

He became a casualty of the 2006 coup in which the military removed Thaksin. The Thai Rak Thai party — predecessor to the Pheu Thai party — was dissolved, and Charnvirakul was banned from politics for five years.

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During his ban, Charnvirakul returned to the family business. He also took up recreational flying, assembling a small fleet of private planes. He put this to use through the Hearts with Wings programme, ferrying sick people to hospital and delivering donated organs in emergencies. Between 2014 and 2024, he is said to have made dozens of trips.

After his ban ended, Anutin took over the Bhumjaithai Party, founded by Newin Chidchob, who remains a powerbroker in Thai politics and an influential figure in the country’s northeast.

Kingmaker

In the 2019 election, the first since the coup by General Prayuth Chan-ocha, Pheu Thai won the most seats. However, Bhumjaithai emerged as a kingmaker and backed Prayuth. Anutin then became deputy prime minister and public health minister.

When Covid-19 struck, Anutin was left with the monumental challenge of guiding Thailand through the crisis, overseeing lockdowns, vaccine procurement, and treatment.

Although Thailand fared no worse than many countries, Anutin was criticised for delays in securing vaccines. He also gained notoriety for a social media tirade in which he accused Westerners of spreading the virus by refusing to wear masks. He later apologised. Still, many credited him with reopening Thailand to foreign tourism, a key economic driver. His tenure as health minister remains controversial.

Anutin’s biggest achievement came in 2022, when Thailand decriminalised cannabis. He championed the plant’s medicinal and health benefits, predicting billions in revenue for the state and fewer prisoners. He even vowed to distribute one million free cannabis plants across the country.

In 2023, Bhumjaithai finished third in the general election, its strongest showing to date. Anutin was seen voting in a shirt patterned with cannabis leaves. However, the party refused to ally with the progressive Move Forward Party, which had won the most votes but was opposed by the royalist and military establishment. Move Forward was later dissolved, and its leader, Pita Limjaroenrat — then the country’s most popular politician — was banned from holding office.

Instead, Bhumjaithai joined a coalition government alongside Pheu Thai, its former rival. It became the second-largest party in the ruling bloc. At the time, Srettha Thavisin, predecessor to Paetongtarn Shinawatra, was elected prime minister. Anutin took the role of interior minister. Thavisin, like Paetongtarn, would later be removed by the Constitutional Court.

How did he get the top job?

Anutin, who would go on to serve again as deputy prime minister, was biding his time.

Despite his privileged background, he cultivated the image of a man of the people with a fondness for street food. “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.”

On social media, he is often seen stir-frying in T-shirts and shorts, or performing 1980s Thai pop on the saxophone or piano. According to government asset declarations, Anutin is also a collector of Buddhist amulets.

While Bhumjaithai has traditionally been non-ideological, it has opposed relaxing Thailand’s strict lèse-majesté laws. Interestingly, decriminalisation of marijuana led to a surge in recreational use and an explosion of cannabis shops, upsetting conservatives and prompting Pheu Thai’s plan to recriminalise non-medical marijuana. It remains to be seen whether Anutin will change his stance.

In June, Anutin seized his chance. After a leaked call between veteran Cambodian leader Hun Sen and prime minister Paetongtarn over a border dispute, he withdrew support from the coalition. Paetongtarn was subsequently suspended by the Constitutional Court.

As the crisis unfolded, Anutin was pictured dining with a powerful ex-general and Thailand’s second-richest man. The photos, which went viral, were widely read as a signal to the royal establishment that he was ready to make a play for power.

Anutin is also close to the monarchy, having recently accompanied King Maha Vajiralongkorn on a four-day state visit to Bhutan. He has positioned himself as part of both a regional political dynasty and the royalist-conservative establishment.

He finally secured the premiership after the People’s Party — successor to the dissolved Move Forward — offered conditional support. Holding nearly a third of lower house seats, the People’s Party remains the largest in parliament. It agreed to back Anutin on the condition that he dissolve parliament within four months and call fresh elections. The party has refused to join the government and threatened a no-confidence vote if he fails to deliver.

Anutin claimed backing from seven other parties and groups, totalling 146 seats. Along with the People’s Party’s 143, this gave him 289 supporters — well over the 247 votes required. On Friday, Anutin was elected prime minister after breezing through a parliamentary vote, defeating the Shinawatra family’s candidate to end a week of chaos and political deadlock.

He did not speak to the house before the vote but, when asked if he had sought divine help, replied: “I prayed to my parents.”

With Bhumjaithai holding just 70 seats, Anutin must be mindful of the needs and moods of his coalition partners. Can he survive the rough and tumble of Thai politics at the highest level? Time will tell.