A government statement on Thursday confirmed that Interior Minister Phumtham Wechayachai took over the duties on Thursday after Paetongtarn was suspended from his duties.
The Thai government stated in a post on social media that King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s swearing-in of ministers had been made official at the first meeting of a new cabinet.
Suriya Jungrungreangkit, 71, takes her place after a day’s delay in the reshuffle.
Following Paetongtarn’s temporary suspension from office earlier this week over allegations she had cheated out of ministerial ethics in a phone conversation with Cambodia’s infamous former leader Hun Sen.
Following an escalation of violence that resulted in the death of a . Cambodian soldier, the call was made in the middle of June in an effort to calm the conflict between the two nations.
In response to Paetongtarn’s choice to refer to Hun Sen as “Uncle” and to a Thai army commander, critics in Thailand expressed anger.
36 senators filed a petition claiming that Hun Sen and the 38-year-old had allegedly violated the Constitution in their conversation.
According to the statement, “sufficient cause to suspect” Paetongtarn had violated ministerial ethics, and an investigation is currently being conducted into the incident.
In the new cabinet, Paetongtarn appointed herself as culture minister before her suspension was instituted. On Thursday, she sworn in at the Grand Palace.
A late June opinion poll showed that Paetongtarn’s government had struggled to revive a sluggish economy, with a figure of 9.2 percent falling from 30.9 percent in March.
A separate court hears a royal defamation lawsuit against her father, former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, on two fronts.
Thaksin has repeatedly pledged allegiance to the crown while denying the accusations levelled against him.
Source: Aljazeera
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