In a move that has thrust Thailand into renewed political uncertainty, the country’s Constitutional Court on Friday removed Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office. The court’s 6-3 ruling determined that a controversial phone call she made to former Cambodian leader Hun Sen breached ethical rules, finding that she “lacked demonstrable honesty and integrity” and “seriously violated… ethical standards.”
The ruling centered on a leaked phone call from June 15, which occurred as tensions escalated in a border dispute with Cambodia. In the audio, Paetongtarn can be heard addressing Hun Sen as “uncle” and stating, “if [he] wants anything, just tell me, and I will take care of it.” These remarks were widely seen by opponents as a compromise of national interests, especially with nationalist sentiment running high. The border dispute eventually escalated into a five-day conflict that killed dozens and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
Paetongtarn, who became Thailand’s youngest prime minister in August 2024, had defended her comments as a negotiating technique aimed at de-escalating tensions. Following the ruling, she held a news conference, stating, “This is another time that the court’s decision has created a sudden political change.”
This decision is the latest instance of political upheaval in Thailand and another blow to the powerful Shinawatra dynasty, a family that has often found itself at odds with the country’s powerful establishment of military, royalist, and business elites. Just last week, Paetongtarn’s influential father, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, survived a separate lese majeste case.
The court had previously suspended Paetongtarn from her prime ministerial duties on July 1, though she had remained in her cabinet post as culture minister.
