Air Chief Marshal Chalit Pukbhasuk PC () (born 5 April 1948) is a retired Thai air force officer, a commander of the

Royal Thai Air Force The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) (; ) is the air force of the Kingdom of Thailand. Since its establishment in 1913 as one of the earliest air forces of Asia, the Royal Thai Air Force has engaged in numerous major and minor conflicts. During the ...

and the acting chairman of

Council for National Security The Council for National Security (; ; abbreviated CNS (), was the military junta that ruled Thailand between its 2006 Thai coup d'état, coup d'état against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on 19 September 2006 until the later coup d'état on ...

, the junta that overthrew the government of former

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Thaksin Shinawatra in the 2006 coup d'état.

Biography

Chalit graduated from the

Academy and held many key positions in the Air Force, including that of air attaché in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

. Prior to becoming Commander of the Air Force, he was the Air Force's

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

. Chalit was reportedly reluctant to support the 2006 Thai coup d'état – Royal Thai Army troops had surrounded Air Force Headquarters on the night of the coup to ensure that Chalit and the Air Force did not provide any resistance. Chalit was appointed a deputy chairman in the

under coup leader,

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Sonthi Boonyaratglin. Chalit was paid nearly 114,000 baht per month as an additional salary to his air force pay while he was deputy chairman. Chalit was named as acting chairman of the Council for National Security on 1 October 2007, succeeding Sonthi, who retired from military duty to enter politics.Thai coup general quits position
BBCThai coup leader quits military council
, TNA/MCOT. In addition to his duties as air force chief and acting CNS head, Chalit also serves as chairman of the board of Thai Airways International. In 2011, Chalit was appointed by

Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej (5 December 192713 October 2016), titled Rama IX, was King of Thailand from 1946 until Death and funeral of Bhumibol Adulyadej, his death in 2016. His reign of 70 years and 126 days is the longest of any List of Thai mo ...

to Privy Council of Thailand. Chalit is married to

Assistant professor Assistant professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doct ...

Dr. Phonthip Phukphasuk, a now retired professor for Thai language from the Faculty of Arts of

Chulalongkorn University Chulalongkorn University (CU; ; , ) is a public university, public Autonomous university, autonomous research university in Bangkok, Thailand. The university was originally founded during King Chulalongkorn's reign as a school for training ro ...

. They have two daughters.

Honours

Royal Decorations

* Knight Grand Cordon of the Most Exalted

Order of the White Elephant __NOTOC__ The Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant (; ) is an order (decoration), order of Thailand. It was established in 1861 by King Mongkut, Rama IV of the Thailand, Kingdom of Siam. Along with the Order of the Crown of Thailand, it is r ...

* Knight Grand Cordon of the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand * Knight Grand Commander of the Most Illustrious Order of Chula Chom Klao * Freemen Safeguarding Medal, 2nd Class 1st Cat * Order of the Direkgunabhorn, Gold Medal * Boy Scout Citation Medal of Vajira, First Class * Chakra Mala Medal * King Rama X Royal Cypher Medal, Third Class * 25th Buddhist Century Celebration Medal

Foreign Honours

* : ** Grand Meritorious Military Order Star, Nararya Class * : ** Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera)

References

, - , - , - Living people 1948 births Chalit Pukbhasuk Chalit Pukbhasuk Chalit Pukbhasuk Chalit Pukbhasuk Chalit Pukbhasuk Chalit Pukbhasuk {{thailand-bio-stub