Author: Paul Chambers, Naresuan University

The judicial suspension of prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on 24 August 2022 catapulted his ‘acting’ successor and former commander, General Prawit Wongsuwan, to office. The accession marked another feather in the hat for Prawit, who hails from a Bangkok-based military elite family and whose political and armed forces connections have transported him to power.

Prawit established these valuable connections during his school years. His cadet class connections include former Army Commander general Sonthi Boonyaratglin and former supreme commander general Boonsrang Niempradit. He attended the Royal Thai Army Command and General Staff School alongside then Crown Prince and now King Vajiralongkorn. Not a bad circle of acquaintances.

In 1978, Prawit was stationed within the eastern infantry division — ‘the Eastern Tigers’ or Buraphapayak. He was originally part of the revered 21st infantry regiment ‘Queen’s Tiger Guards’ but after supporting a failed coup attempt in 1981 was transferred to the frontier second regiment along the war-ravaged Thailand–Cambodia border.

It was there that he befriended local political bigwig Sanoh Thienthong and, through Sanoh, met other politicians including Newin Chidchob and future prime minister Banharn Silpa-archa. In 1989, Prawit became 12th infantry regiment commander in Sakaeo province, near the Aranyaprathet–Poipet border crossing. In Sakaeo, he oversaw trade along the frontier. By 1994, he was peripherally involved in general Chavalit Yongchaiyudh’s New Aspiration Party while his regiment was rumoured to be profiting from the export of blood diamonds from Cambodia.

In 1997, Prawit’s mentor — then army commander general Chetta Thanajaro — appointed him deputy first army commander. But in 2000, under army commander general Surayud Chulanond, Prawit fell from grace. He was demoted to army advisor — allegedly because Surayud’s patron, then privy council chair general Prem Tinsulanonda, was unhappy that Prawit had not sufficiently opposed a 1985 coup attempt against then prime minister Prem.

Luckily for Prawit, following the 2001 election his friend Chavalit became defence minister — appointing him first army commander in 2002 and assistant army commander in 2003. Good fortune again assisted Prawit in 2004, when the escalating insurgency in Thailand’s deep south led prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to appoint Prawit to the position of army commander. It helped that he had befriended Thaksin’s wife, Potjaman Na Pombejra, and Thai Rak Thai Party deputies Sudarat Keyurapan and Wattana Muangsuk. When Prawit retired from the army in 2005, he was popular among soldiers and parliamentarians.

The 2006 Sonthi-led military coup hastened Prawit’s ascension to political power. All but one of the post-putsch junta leaders belonged to Prawit’s pre-cadet class. His ‘younger brother’ from Buraphapayak, general Anupong Paochinda, became army commander in 2007 and the two of them cobbled together an anti-Thaksin civilian government in December 2008, of which Prawit was made defence minister.

Prawit ensured another ‘younger brother’ general Prayut Chan-o-cha’s appointment as army commander and helped coordinate the 2010 massacre of pro-democracy red shirt demonstrators. Though he was dismissed following the 2011 election, Prawit returned to power on the day of general Prayut Chan-o-cha’s 2014 coup, which Prawit helped plan.

Immediately following the coup, Prawit became junta deputy head, deputy prime minister, defence minister and gained operational control over funding for the counterinsurgency and ‘development’ effort in the deep south. He was key to establishing the National Legislative Assembly in 2017, to which many of his minions were appointed, and served as chair of the senate nomination committee, which selected names for the King’s approval. He exercised perhaps the greatest power within the junta at this time.

After a farcical 2019 poll indirectly elected Prayut as prime minister, Prawit was appointed deputy prime minister and became party leader of the Palang Pracharat Party. The Five Provinces Forest Conservation Foundation, created by the army to protect the environment while boosting development in eastern Thailand, has reputedly been used by Prawit to enrich himself and his military and political chums. Its executive committee of 25 contains 19 military members.

Prawit’s relatives are also powerful. His brother, general Pacharawat Wongsuwan, leads an influential police faction. Another brother, admiral Sitthawat Wongsuwan, was chairman of the now-defunct 2014–2019 National Legislative Assembly. The junta appointed both as senators. Pacharawat’s loyalist, former police chief general Watcharapol Prasarnrajkit is now President of Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission, which cleared Prawit of failing to declare his 22 luxury watches.

Aside from the King, Prawit commands the most military loyalty and has determined most military and police reshuffles since 2014 — ensuring that the armed forces prolongs its political shadow. He has also personally selected cabinet ministers. Within the ruling Palang Pracharat Party, Prawit’s word is fiat.

In September 2021, following rumours of dissension between Prawit and Prayut, Prawit’s proxy — Captain Thammanat Prompao — almost succeeded in masterminding a censure against the now former prime minister. Since 2022, Thammanat has led what appears to be a back-up party for Prawit — the Thai Economic Party. But speculation abounds that he and now-fugitive Thaksin have secretly agreed to form a coalition with Palang Pracharat and Thaksin’s Pheu Thai Party following the next general election, with Prawit potentially as prime minister.

Prawit remains the crucial ‘big brother’ of the ‘three Ps’ — Prawit, Prayut and Interior Minister Anupong. The one-time platoon commander has now reached the pinnacle of Thai political clout. Outside of the palace, in late 2022, almost all military and political roads lead to Prawit Wongsuwan.

But Prawit’s ascension to the prime ministership simply solidifies his path to power. One of his first acts was to appoint a confidante, General Damrongsak Kittiprapas, as Thailand’s new police chief. He will also oversee Thailand’s annual military reshuffle on 1 October. Prayut may return to power. Regardless, though his physical health may be deteriorating, Prawit has proven that an aging authoritarian can possess robust political health, and the 77-year old is likely to remain a formidable strongman until his death.

Dr Paul Chambers is Lecturer at the Centre of ASEAN Community Studies, Naresuan University, Thailand, and has published extensively on military affairs in Southeast Asia. He is also co-author of Khaki Capital: The Political Economy of the Military in Southeast Asia.

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