Thai prime minister removed by court, triggering power scramble

FILE PHOTO: Suspended Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra leaves the Constitutional Court after testifying in a high-profile ethics case, following a leaked phone conversation between her and Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen, in Bangkok, Thailand, August 21, 2025. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File photo

BANGKOK (Reuters) -Thailand's Constitutional Court dismissed Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Friday for an ethics violation, in another crushing blow to the Shinawatra political dynasty that triggered a flurry of deal-making aimed at filling the void.

Paetongtarn, who was Thailand's youngest prime minister, became the sixth premier from or backed by the billionaire Shinawatra family to be removed by the military or judiciary in a tumultuous two-decade battle for power between the country's warring elites.