Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha revealed on Friday he has appointed new members of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) ruling committee, replacing those who have recently retired from the military.
The NCPO committee is made up largely of armed forces commanders.
On the new NCPO panel, Gen Theerachai Nakwanich, who has also been appointed as the new army chief, replaced Gen Udomdej Sitabutr as the new NCPO secretary-general.
On Thursday, Gen Theerachai also succeeded Gen Udomdej as leader of the army. Gen Udomdej now holds the position of deputy defence minister.
Theerachai: Caption
Gen Prayut, in his capacity as NCPO chief, said yesterday he had signed an order appointing the new NCPO committee members before he left Thailand late last month to attend the UN General Assembly.
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said on Friday he expected Gen Theerachai to streamline the work of the NCPO and speed up orders and implementation.
Gen Theerachai may also take over as the commander of the NCPO's peace and order maintaining force, Gen Prawit said, adding that he prefers Gen Theerachai for the post.
If he takes that position, he would replace 1st Army Chief Lt Gen Theppong Thippayachan.
Normally, the 1st Army chief is the ex-officio commander of the NCPO's peace and order maintaining force. Gen Theerachai, who was the former 1st Army chief, previously also served as the force's commander.
Gen Prawit said he would ask Gen Theerachai if he wanted to hold the positions concurrently.
"This is to shorten the chain of command because weak points last year must be addressed," Gen Prawit said.
He assured that he would work well with Gen Theerachai, saying the latter had been his subordinate for some two decades.
Meanwhile, the newly-appointed army deputy chief-of-staff Gen Prakan Chonlayuth, who was formerly the 4th Army commander, handed over command of the 4th Army to his successor Lt Gen Wiwat Pathomphak.
The formal handover ceremony was held at Vajiravudh camp at the 4th Army headquarters in Nakhon Si Thammarat's Muang district. The 4th Army is responsible for overseeing security in the South.