Yingluck Shinawatra was elected Thailand's first female prime minister today in a parliamentary vote just 11 weeks into a political career crafted from exile by her brother and former premier, Thaksin.
The 44-year-old former businesswoman, who was unopposed, sailed through the vote in the 500-member parliament to take charge of a country plagued by instability since Mr Thaksin was ousted by the army in 2006.
She quickly won the approval of more than 251 lawmakers. The vote continued.
Ms Yingluck must wait for the endorsement of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, which could come as early as tonight, before she officially takes up her post and begins naming a cabinet. Candidates for cabinet jobs have been kept under wraps by her Puea Thai Party.
Ms Yingluck was propelled from relative obscurity to stardom in a matter of days after entering the election race on May 16th as the campaign leader of Puea Thai, a party effectively controlled by twice-elected billionaire Mr Thaksin, who lives in Dubai to evade a two-year jail sentence for corruption.
The decision to field Ms Yingluck was regarded - even by some of his enemies - as a masterstroke by Mr Thaksin to wrest back power and ensure the support of millions of poor voters loyal to him because of his populist policies during five years in power.
To the surprise of analysts, who had expected a closer general election, Puea Thai won an outright majority of 265 of the 500 seats in parliament, leaving the Democrats of outgoing prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva a distant second.
Ms Yingluck will lead a coalition of six parties with a total of 300 seats. The partners will get some cabinet posts but she is also expected to appoint some ministers from outside parliament.
The honeymoon will quickly be over for Ms Yingluck. Pressure is expected to build on her to implement populist policies that critics say could ramp up government debt and inflation and put companies out of business.
In particular, she has promised a jump in the minimum wage of up to 90 per cent and a guaranteed farmgate price for rice that is nearly double the market level before the election.