The Chief of Defence Forces, previously known as the Supreme Commander, (, RTGS: Phu Bancha Kan Thahan Sung Sut) is the overall field commander of the

Royal Thai Armed Forces The Royal Thai Armed Forces (RTARF; ; ) are the armed forces of the Kingdom of Thailand. The Highest Commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces (จอมทัพไทย; ) is the King of Thailand. The armed forces are managed by the Minist ...

. He is also in charge of managing the

Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters The Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters ( or the RTARF HQ, is the "mostly ornamental" joint headquarters of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, which is composed of the Royal Thai Army, the Royal Thai Navy and Royal Thai Marine Corps, and the Royal Th ...

. Not to be confused with the ceremonial

Highest Commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces The Highest Commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces (; ) is a position vested in the Thai monarch, who as sovereign and head of state is the commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Armed Forces. The position is only nominal. The armed forces are ...

who is the constitutional monarch of Thailand. Prior to 1960 the post was an ad hoc creation by

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

Plaek Phibunsongkhram Plaek Phibunsongkhram; 14 July 1897 – 11 June 1964) was a Thai military officer and politician who served as the third prime minister of Thailand from 1938 to 1944 and again from 1948 to 1957. He rose to power as a leading member of the Kh ...

, during World War II. However, under Field Marshal

Sarit Thanarat Sarit Thanarat (also spelled Dhanarajata; ; born Siri (); 16 June 1908 – 8 December 1963) was a Thai politician and military commander. He served as commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army (from 1954) and as Minister of Defense during ...

the position became permanent, and in its early life was even combined with the post of

Prime Minister of Thailand The prime minister of Thailand (, , ; literally 'chief minister of state') is the head of government of Thailand. The prime minister is also the chair of the cabinet of Thailand. The post has existed since the Siamese Revolution of 1932, when ...

. In February 2008 the English name of the post was changed from ''Supreme Commander'' to ''Chief of Defence Forces'' with the reorganization of the Supreme Command Headquarters into the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters (though the Thai term remained the same). The enactment of 1997 Constitution of Thailand on 11 October 1997 prohibits double-hatting of this position and each service branch commander-in-chief, the general officer appointed to the Chief of Defence Forces after the date acts more like a coordinator between three military branches. Still, he commands smaller military force than the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

, the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

, or the

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

has. So, the position is usually reserved for senior army generals who will not be appointed as the

Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army The Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army () is headquartered in Bangkok. The commander of the Royal Thai Army is a powerful position that has at times been the springboard to the premiership. Prior to 1932, the post of Commander of the Siam ...

and will retire on the same year with the latter. It is customary to appoint the chief of defence to

four-star rank Military star ranking is military terminology, used in mainly English speaking countries, to describe general and flag officers. Within NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to OF-6–10. Star ranking One-star A one-star rank is usual ...

in all three branches in the Armed Forces for inspection of other branches of the Armed Forces.

List of chiefs

Supreme Commanders (1941−2008)

, -style="text-align:center;" , colspan=7, ''Temporary command during the

Franco-Thai War The Franco-Thai War (October 1940 – 28 January 1941, ; ) was fought between Thailand and Vichy France over certain areas of French Indochina. Negotiations shortly before World War II had shown that the French government was willing to alter th ...

'' , - , -style="text-align:center;" , colspan=7, ''Temporary command during the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

'' , - , -style="text-align:center;" , colspan=7, ''Permanent command'' , -

Chiefs of Defence Forces (2008−present)

References

Former commander (Thai)
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Chiefs Of Defence Forces (Thailand) Military of Thailand Chiefs of Defence

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

List of chiefs

Supreme Commanders (1941−2008)

Chiefs of Defence Forces (2008−present)

See also

References