Chaiyasit Shinawatra ( th, ชัยสิทธิ์ ชินวัตร; ; born 25 June 1945) is a former commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army. He was transferred from the army to become a special advisor to the Supreme Command Headquarters under the administration of Prime Minister

Chuan Leekpai Chuan Leekpai ( th, ชวน หลีกภัย, , ; ; born 28 July 1938) is a Thai politician who is the current President of the National Assembly of Thailand as well as the incumbent Speaker of the Thai House of Representatives. Previou ...

. In August 2001, Chaiyasit was promoted to deputy commander of the Armed Forces Development Command. In August 2002, he was promoted to the post of deputy commander-in-chief. As a cousin of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Thaksin Shinawatra, his unexpected appointment was criticised as an act of

nepotism Nepotism is an advantage, privilege, or position that is granted to relatives and friends in an occupation or field. These fields may include but are not limited to, business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, fitness, religion, an ...

. Both Chaiyasit and the Defence Minister, General

Chavalit Yongchaiyudh Chavalit Yongchaiyudh ( th, ชวลิต ยงใจยุทธ, , ; born 15 May 1932), also known as "Big Jiew" (, , ), is a Thai politician and retired army officer. From 1986 to 1990 he was the List of Commanders of the Royal Thai Army, ...

, denied accusations of nepotism: "If I'm appointed to a significant post in the Army because of my connection with the prime minister, I won't have any friends left in the armed forces," said Chaiyasit. He said that Thaksin would not interfere with any high-level military reshuffles: "It's a shame that the prime minister's name was tainted by such a groundless rumour." He replaced General

Surayud Chulanont Surayud Chulanont ( th, สุรยุทธ์ จุลานนท์, , ; born 28 August 1943) is a Thai politician. He was the Prime Minister of Thailand and head of Thailand's interim government between 2006 and 2008. He is a former sup ...

, who was promoted to become supreme commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, as commander-in-chief in August 2003. He was replaced as army chief in 2004, succeeded by

Prawit Wongsuwan Prawit Wongsuwon ( th, ประวิตร วงษ์สุวรรณ, , ; born 11 August 1945) is a Thai politician who is serving as the First Deputy Prime Minister and previously served as Minister of Defence from 2008 to 2011 during th ...

, and was transferred to Supreme Command. Chaisit was then replaced as supreme commander in 2005, succeeded by General Ruangroj Mararanont.Nation staff. September 8, 2005
"Long-delayed military reshuffle approved"
, ''The Nation'' (retrieved September 20, 2006).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shinawatra, Chaiyasit Chaiyasit Shinawatra Chaiyasit Shinawatra Chaiyasit Shinawatra Chaiyasit Shinawatra Hakka generals 1945 births Living people Chaiyasit Shinawatra Chaiyasit Shinawatra Chaiyasit Shinawatra Chaiyasit Shinawatra Chaiyasit Shinawatra Chaiyasit Shinawatra Chaiyasit Shinawatra Chaiyasit Shinawatra Chaiyasit Shinawatra Recipients of the Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang (Tentera)