With hardly any political experience, her nomination by the opposition Puea Thai party shows the influence that her brother, ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, continues to exert in Thailand even while living in self-imposed exile.
Yingluck, a photogenic 43-year-old with a business-oriented background, is 18 years junior to her controversial big brother and will struggle to prove that she is anything but his puppet when it comes to politics.
"Yingluck is more like Thaksin's eldest child than his younger sister. She is his second-most trusted person in his family, after his ex-wife Pojaman," news magazine Matichon Weekly said in a profile in March.
"Yingluck is truly Thaksin's protege and she can access him at any time," it said.
Thailand is largely split between fans and foes of Thaksin, whose populist policies during his 2001-2006 tenure drew him a wide following in the rural north but accusations of authoritarianism and corruption from the Bangkok-based elites.
Ousted in a military coup, he now lives abroad to escape a jail term and is thought to be mainly based in Dubai, yet his absence has failed to diminish his significance at home, where he is considered the de facto leader of Puea Thai.
His detractors accuse him of inciting unrest during mass opposition protests by his Red Shirt followers last year, which saw dozens of people killed in clashes with authorities. He has also faces an arrest warrant for terrorism.
Against that background a nervous Yingluck emerged into the media spotlight on Monday, clearly aware of her candidacy's potential to ignite tensions.
"I want to see unity and reconciliation in our country. Puea Thai will not take revenge but will resolve," she said as she accepted her nomination.
The election on July 3 will see her go head-to-head with Oxford-educated and elite-backed Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who came to power in 2008 and has shown surprising resilience in the wake of last year's crisis.
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