Surayud’s appointment as acting president is effective as of May 27, according to the royal command published in the Royal Gazette on May 28.
Surayud, 75, had assumed the post of privy councillor on two occasions during the reign of King Rama IX.
He became Thailand’s 24th PM from October 2006 to January 2008 after the September 2006 coup. After his premiership, he was again reappointed to the Privy Council by King Rama IX.
The general was also previously an army chief and supreme commander.
The late Prem Tinsulanonda was first appointed as Privy Council President in September 1998, and reappointed by HM King Maha Vajiralongkorn on December 2, 2016.
