His Majesty the King has chosen Somdet Phra Maha Muniwong, abbot of Wat Ratchabophit, to be the 20th Supreme Patriarch of Thailand, according to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
"I submitted the names of five qualified monks for His Majesty to consider. On Monday night, I was informed His Majesty had chosen Somdet Phra Maha Muniwong," he said.
A ceremony to appoint him will be held at 5pm on Sunday at Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram. It will be presided over by the king.
Somdet Phra Maha Muniwong, 89, is of Dhammayuttika Nikaya, one of the two orders of Buddhist monks in Thailand.
On Jan 6, the Sangha Act was amended to allow the King to directly choose and appoint the Supreme Patriarch instead of through the Sangha Council's nomination.
Earlier, Somdet Chuang, the abbot of Wat Paknam Phasi Charoen and acting Supreme Patriarch, was the candidate since he is the most senior monk in the country as stipulated by the old law.
