Prayut Chan-o-cha

Prayut Chan-o-cha (previously spelt Prayuth Chan-ocha; ประยุทธ์ จันทร์โอชา; IPA:; born 21 March 1954) is a former Thai army officer who is now (2014) the Prime Minister of Thailand and head of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), a military junta that has the power to control the prime minister.

Prayut is a former Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Army, the post he held from October 2010 to October 2014. After his appointment as army chief, Prayut was characterised as a strong royalist and an opponent of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Considered a hardliner within the military, he was one of the leading proponents of military crackdowns on the "Red Shirt" demonstrations of April 2009 and April–May 2010. He later sought to moderate his profile, talking to relatives of protesters who were killed in the bloody conflict, and co-operating with the government of Yingluck Shinawatra who won parliamentary election in July 2011.

During the political crisis that began in November 2013 and involved protests against the caretaker government of Yingluck, Prayut claimed that the army was neutral, and would not launch a coup. However, in May 2014, Prayut launched a military coup against the government and then assumed control of the country as NCPO leader. He later issued an interim constitution granting himself sweeping powers and giving himself amnesty for staging the coup. In August 2014, a military-dominated national legislature, whose members were handpicked by Prayut, elected him as the new prime minister.

After seizing power, Prayut launched crackdowns on dissent. He required all students in Thai schools to recite the twelve "values" as formulated by him. He has also banned public discussion about democracy and any criticism of his government.

Military education
Prayut studied at the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School (AFAPS) Class 12, Command and General Staff College (CGSC) Class 63, the National Defence College of Thailand (NDC) 5020, and attended Infantry Officer Basic Course Class 51 and Infantry Officer Advanced Course Class 38. He was graduated with a bachelor of science degree from Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy.

Like his direct predecessor Anupong Paochinda and former defence minister Prawit Wongsuwan, Prayut is a member of the army's "eastern tigers" clique. Most of them, like Prayut, began their military careers in the 2nd Infantry Division (headquartered in eastern Thailand), particularly in the 21st Infantry Regiment (Queen's Guards).

Military career
After graduating from the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy, Prayut served in the 21st Infantry Regiment, which is granted Royal Guards status as the Queen's Guards (ทหารเสือราชินี lit. Queen's Musketeer). In 2002, he served as a deputy commanding general in the 2nd Infantry Division, ascending to the rank of commanding general one year later. In 2005, he became a deputy commanding general of the 1st Army Area of which the 2nd Infantry Division is a part, and again became its commanding general within a year.

Prayut was the chief of staff of the Royal Thai Army from 2008 to 2009 and in 2009 was appointed honorary adjutant to the king. In 2010, he succeeded Anupong Paochinda as commander in chief.

Non-military activities
After the 2006 Thai coup d'état, Prayut was appointed to the National Legislative Assembly. In this capacity, he joined the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. Prayut sits on the executive boards of a number of companies including the state electricity utility company, MEA. From 2007 to 2010 he was independent director at Thai Oil Public Co, Ltd. Since October 7, 2010 he has been a director of Thai Military Bank and chairman of the Army United Football Club.

In May 2013, Prayut sold nine plots of land in a Bangkok suburb to a company called 69 Property for THB600 million. Reporters subsequently asked him about the land sale and the prime minister's position is that the media has no business questioning him on the matter. "The land has belonged to me since I was a kid, it belonged to my father. So what's the problem?" Gen Prayuth said. "Please stop criticising me already."

In his mandatory 2014 asset disclosure to the National Anti-Corruption Commission, the prime minister listed THB128.6 million (US$3.9 million) in assets and THB654,745 baht (US$20,000) in liabilities. His assets include a Mercedes Benz S600L car, a BMW 740Li Series sedan, luxury watches, rings, and several pistols. He also reported the transfer of THB466.5 million (US$14.3 million) to other family members. As army chief, prior to his retirement at the end of September, the general received a THB1.4 million (US$43,000) annual salary.

2014 coup d'état and premiership
Following the 2013–14 Thai political crisis, Prayut staged a coup against the caretaker government of Yingluck Shinawatra on 22 May 2014. Yingluck herself was earlier removed by the Constitutional Court and Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan acted in her place. After the coup, Prayut repealed the 2007 constitution and established the NCPO to govern the nation, with himself as its leader. Prayut cracked down on dissent. He took control of the media, imposed Internet censorship, declared a curfew nationwide, banned gatherings of five persons or more, and arrested politicians and anti-coup activists. Some of those arrested were charged with sedition and tried in military courts.

On 22 July 2014, Prayut issued an interim constitution granting himself amnesty for leading the coup and investing himself with vast powers. On 31 July 2014, a national legislature was established according to the constitution. The legislators, most of whom are military and police officers, were all handpicked by Prayut and included a younger brother of Prayut. The legislature later unanimously voted Prayut as the new prime minister. The formal appointment was made on 24 August 2014. As a result, Prayut held three positions at the same time: army chief, NCPO leader, and prime minister, before retiring from the army chief post in October 2014.

Although Prayut claimed that his coup was needed for combating corruption, members of his own cabinet and members of the appointed national legislature, including Prayut's brother Preecha Chan-o-cha and Minister to the Office of the Prime Minister M.L. Panadda Diskul, have been beset by various corruption scandals. Prayut then prohibited any criticism of his government.

His appearance in Milan at the 10th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) on 16 October 2014 drew protests.

Personal life
Prayut is married to Naraporn Chan-o-cha, a former associate professor at Chulalongkorn University's Language Institute. She has served as president of the Army Wives' Association since Prayut's selection as army chief in 2010, and is involved with distance learning organisations, for whom she teaches English on a long-distance learning television channel. They have twin daughters, Thanya and Nittha; his family has generally kept a low profile, particularly after a Red Shirt leader called for his daughters' kidnapping if Prayut were to stage a coup.

In September 2014, Time magazine reported that he had become "increasingly eccentric" and "highly superstitious" since taking power. Gen Prayut has stated publicly that he consults fortune tellers. He said there was no harm in seeking their advice. When suffering from fever and aches early in his premiership, he blamed his ills on spells cast by his political enemies and combated the malady with holy water.