Srettha Thavisin's dramatic rise and fall in Thai politics

Thailand's Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin looks on as he and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (not pictured) hold a press conference at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, March 13, 2024. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Srettha Thavisin won a parliamentary vote to become Thailand's prime minister last August, after a closely-fought election where his party had finished only second.

Just under a year later, the 62-year-old property tycoon-turned-politician was dismissed from the premiership by a court order on Wednesday, plunging Southeast Asia's second-largest economy into political turmoil.