text: Thaksin Shinawatra (Thai: ทักษิณ ชินวัตร, ; Chinese: 丘達新, nicknamed Maew แม้ว by the media; born 26 July 1949) is a Thai businessman who was Prime Minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006, when he was deposed in a military coup and convicted in absentia for a conflict of interest.