Thailand: Prayuth Chan-ocha (born 1954), Prime Minister of Thailand (2014 -). Photo by Peerapat Wimolrungkarat / Government of Thailand (CC BY 2.0 License)
Prayuth Chan-ocha (Thai: ประยุทธ์ จันทร์โอชา; born 21 March 1954) is a Thai army officer who is concurrently the Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Army and the Leader of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO).
Prayuth has been characterised as a strong royalist and an opponent of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
During the political crisis that began in November 2013 and involved the protests against the caretaker government of Yingluck Shinawatra, Prayuth attempted to maintain army neutrality. However, on 22 May 2014, Prayuth launched a military coup against the government and since then assumed control of the country as NCPO leader.
On 21 August 2014, a military dominated national legislature elected him as the new prime minister.
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