"His Majesty the King has endorsed Mr. Anutin Charnvirakul to be prime minister from now onwards," said secretary-general of Thailand's lower house of parliament Arpath Sukhanunth, reading aloud a royal command in a ceremony at Anutin's Bhumjaithai Party headquarters in Bangkok.

Anutin, 58, has previously served as deputy prime minister, interior minister and health minister -- but is perhaps most famous for being the architect of Thailand's 2022 cannabis decriminalisation.

He becomes the kingdom's third leader in two years, but has taken power with coalition backing conditional on dissolving parliament within four months to hold fresh elections.

Anutin ousts the populist Shinawatra clan's Pheu Thai party, which has monopolised the top office since 2023 elections but saw their dynasty heiress Paetongtarn Shinawatra sacked as prime minister by court order last month.

On Saturday Anutin named the former Treasury Department head, the top oil and gas executive and a respected diplomat to run the finance, energy, and foreign ministries, saying his first cabinet picks would “bring confidence” to a country shaken by political and economic upheaval.

Anutin, a shrewd dealmaker and mainstay of Thai politics throughout years of turmoil, was elected prime minister on Friday, capping off days of drama and a scramble for power during which he outmaneuvered the most successful political party in Thailand's history.

He said diplomat Sihasak Phuangketkeow, economist Ekniti Nitithanprapas and energy giant PTT executive Auttapol Rerkpiboon were "top executives in the organizations they will be responsible for".

Ekniti is a finance ministry official who was once seen as a candidate for central bank governor while Auttapol helmed the country's largest company, the state-owned energy firm, PTT Group.

Thailand's foreign service will see former permanent secretary Sihasak return as minister as a fragile truce with neighbouring Cambodia holds after a border clash flared into a five-day conflict that left at least 43 dead in July.

The appointments, which become official after receiving royal approval, come at a crucial time for Southeast Asia's second-largest economy, where growth has been lagging regional peers amid months of political instability.

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