Thai King endorses new cabinet led by PM Srettha

BANGKOK - Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn has endorsed a new cabinet with Srettha Thavisin serving as the prime minister and finance minister, a royal gazette said on Saturday.

According to the gazette published on Saturday, the king appointed 34 members of the cabinet as selected by Srettha, including six deputy prime ministers and other ministers.

The Pheu Thai Party, which leads the coalition government, will oversee 10 major ministries, including defense, finance, transport, commerce, public health, and foreign affairs, while its largest coalition partner, the Bhumjaithai Party, will oversee the interior, education, and labor ministries.

Under the Thai constitution, new members of the cabinet are required to take an oath of allegiance before the king and then deliver a policy statement to parliament before they assume office.

Srettha, the candidate of the Pheu Thai Party, was elected as the Southeast Asian nation's new prime minister in August in a parliamentary vote.

His 11-party coalition government includes major parties from the administration of former Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

The Pheu Thai Party came second in the general elections in May after the Move Forward Party. It initially supported Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat as the new prime minister, but pulled out and formed its own coalition after Pita failed to secure necessary support in the previous two bicameral sittings of the Thai parliament.