Thaksin Shinawatra: divisive ex-PM looms over Thai politics

After the army removed Thaksin from office as prime minister in 2006, he fled the country two years later, but detractors claim he never ceased weighing in on or interfering with domestic issues Even though Thaksin Shinawatra, the wealthy former premier of Thailand, was overthrown in a coup more than 17 years ago and lived in self-imposed exile for 15 of those years, he continued to have a significant influence on the political landscape of the country. The 74-year-old, who was nearly equally hated and loved, revolutionised Thai politics in the early 2000s by implementing populist measures that garnered the…