On the campaign trail in rural Thailand last year, Paetongtarn Shinawatra reminded voters of her influential billionaire family's legacy of populism in what was her electoral debut.

The 37-year-old, who spent weeks at the hustings while visibly pregnant, delivered mixed results. Her Pheu Thai party came only in second in 2023's election but cobbled together a ruling coalition after the vote-winner was blocked by military-backed lawmakers.

Now, the daughter of the country's most divisive but enduring politician, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, will take the office her father and aunt once occupied, underlining her family's central place in Thai politics.