Thaksin, the 74-year-old head of a famed political dynasty and a former owner of Manchester City Football Club, was in office from 2001 until he was ousted in a military coup in 2006 while in New York attending a UN meeting, reports CNN.He returned to Thailand briefly before fleeing the country in 2008 over a corruption conviction and could face up to 10 years in prison upon his arrival.Thaksin arrived at Bangkok’s Don Mueang International Airport by a private jet at 9 a.m. on Tuesday morning.He exited the airport’s private jet terminal some 90 minutes later, greeting a crowd of supporters opposite and bowing to a portrait of Thailand’s king.Video showed Thaksin hugging his sister Yingluck Shinawatra, who also lives in self-exile, before boarding a plane in Singapore.Yingluck was elected as Thailand’s first female Prime Minister in 2011, but was dismissed in 2014 after the Constitutional Court ruled she had abused her position.Thaksin's long-awaited arrival comes on the same day as a vote in Parliament to choose a new Prime Minister, which will finally break a political deadlock more than three months after the popular Move Forward Party won the general elections, CNN reported.The Thaksin-backed Pheu Thai party, which came second in the May election, will on Tuesday nominate real estate mogul Srettha Thavisin as the next Prime Minister.On Monday, Pheu Thai struck a deal with its former military rivals in a bid to secure enough parliamentary votes to form a government.In 2014, former army chief Prayut Chan-o-cha seized power from the Pheu Thai government, and Yingluck followed Thaksin into self-imposed exile.Prayut has ruled Thailand since, announcing in July that he would not seek re-election and will retire from politics.--IANSksk(Disclaimer: This post has been auto published from IANS news agency without any modification to the text and has not been reviewed by editor)
