BANGKOK – Thailand’s former prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has been appointed to the Privy Council, a small body of advisers to the powerful King Maha Vajiralongkorn, the Royal Gazette announced on Nov 29.

The former general, a long-running fixture in Thai politics, took power in a 2014 coup but lost the 2023 election after heading the United Thai Nation (UTN) party.

“Using the power of the Kingdom of Thailand’s Constitution... the King has appointed Prayut Chan-o-cha as a member of the Privy Council, effective from now,” the gazette said late on Nov 29.

The notice added that the King had decided to “appoint more members of the Privy Council”.

Mr Prayut’s UTN – which he joined to lead only weeks before the election – failed to gain traction with voters in May’s national polls, coming in a distant fifth behind opposition parties Move Forward and Pheu Thai.

He announced his resignation from politics in July, but urged party members to protect “the institutions of nation, religion, and monarchy” – a reference to the previously untouchable three pillars of Thai society. AFP