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General
Apirat Kongsompong
MPCh MWM ThChW
อภิรัชต์ คงสมพงษ์
Apirat Kongsompong in 2021
Commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army
In office
1 October 2018 – 30 September 2020
Preceded byChalermchai Sitthisart
Succeeded byNarongphan Jitkaewthae
Personal details
Born (1960-03-23) 23 March 1960 (age 63)
Bangkok, Thailand
SpouseKritika Sirijanya
Children2
Parent
Alma mater
NicknameDaeng
Military service
Allegiance Thailand
Branch/service
Years of service1985–2020
RankGeneral
Commands
Battles/warsCommunist insurgency in Thailand
South Thailand insurgency[1]
Awards

Apirat Kongsompong (Thai: อภิรัชต์ คงสมพงษ์; RTGS: Aphirat Khongsomphong; born 23 March 1960) was the Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Army from 1 October 2018 to 30 September 2020.[2] He currently serves as the Vice-Chamberlain of the Royal Household Bureau and the deputy director of the Crown Property Bureau. He held many important positions throughout his career including chairman of the board of directors of Government Lottery Office,[3] Independent Director at Bangchak Petroleum Public Co.,[4][5][6] Member of the National Legislative Assembly,[7] Secretary of the National Council for Peace and Order, and member of the Senate.

Early life and education

Apirat was born in Bangkok on 23 March 1960. He is the eldest son of General Sunthorn Kongsompong (the former Supreme Commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces and the Chairman of the National Peacekeeping Council), and Colonel Khunying Orachorn Kongsompong. He has a younger brother, Major General Nattaporn Kongsompong (retired). Apirat completed his primary and part of secondary education at St. Gabriel's College. He later attended the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School (Class 20) and went on to attend Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy (Class 31) where he graduated in 1985.

Ater that he studied a Master of Business Administration, Southeastern University Washington DC.,USA.

Military career

General Apirat (left) with U.S. Army General James McConville chief of staff, U.S. Army at Arlington National Cemetery

General Apirat received a commission as an army officer upon graduation from Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy in 1985. He served as a pilot at the Army Aviation Center at the beginning of his military career. He completed UH-1H Maintenance/Test Pilot Training at Fort Eustis, Virginia, USA. He also completed the AH-1H (Cobra) Pilot Training Course at Fort Rucker, Alabama, USA. Apirat is also a graduate of Infantry Officer Advanced Course at Fort Benning, Georgia, USA. In October 1990, Apirat was appointed Assistant Logistics Officer at the Royal Thai Army Defense Attache Office in Washington D.C.

General Apirat commanded 2nd Battalion, 11th Infantry Regiment, King's Guard in Bangkok. He went on to command 11th Infantry Regiment King's Guard.[8][9] He served as the Commanding General of 11th Infantry Division in Chachoengsao Province. He went on to serve as the Commanding General of 15th Military Circle in Petchaburi Province. Apirat commanded 1st Division, King's Guard[10][11] in Bangkok. In 2016, General Apirat was appointed the Commanding General of the 1st Army Area.[12][13][14][15] He was promoted to Assistant Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Army in 2017. General Apirat was appointed the Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Army in 2018 which he would command the Royal Thai Army until his retirement in September 2020.

Apirat's deployment experience includes anti-communist operations in 1986. He served as the Commander of Task Force 14 which conducted counter-insurgency operations in Yala Province in 2004.

Apirat is associated with the military clique Wong Thewan, in turn associated with the 1st Division, the King's Guard.[2] While Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and his deputy, Prawit Wongsuwon are members of the rival 2nd Division clique, Burapha Phayak ('tigers of the east'), Apirat is known to have close ties with them.[2]

Army chief

Barely a month into his tenure as army chief, Apirat created a media firestorm with his comments on the necessity for military intervention in Thai politics should turmoil surface.[16][17][18]

In October 2019, Gen. Apirat host the special sermon about propaganda in Thailand. As the National security officer, Gen. Apirat heavily concerned about digital propaganda via social media because of the hasty widespread the idea of communist or extreme left which is hard to identify.[19] Unfortunately, this mentioned idea is led to overthrow the monarchy which trend to influenced by protests in Hong Kong and define this operation as a “Hybrid Warfare” to destroy the foundation of the state.[20][21][22][23]

In October 2019, Apriat warned in a speech to military officers, policemen, and uniformed students that, "Propaganda in Thailand is severe and worrying. There is a group of communists who still have ideas to overthrow the monarchy, to turn Thailand to communism..."[24][25] His performance prompted the Bangkok Post to remark, "It was 'a lecture' that should never have been given by any army chief, for its combination of accusations against 'the left' and young people, and sensational and biased political messages."[26][27] The speech prompted one analyst to urge that rival factions end the "enemy mindset".[28] His comments sparked criticism online for being a partisan bureaucrat.[29]

Gen. Apirat provided the urgent policy to detect and solve the difficulty on the welfare for the officer of Royal Thai Army.[30] Gen. Apirat founded the direct call centre for officers who has obstacles to provide confidential information to Commander in chief directly. Moreover, due to Nakhon Ratchasima shootings in 2020 caused by the welfare housing system, Gen. Apirat established the investigation committee to examine the source of obstacle and find the solution and to include provide remedy for the victim.[31] The hot line provided valuable evidence that lead to the undercover problem in Royal Thai Army, to be processed further by the specialist organization such as the office of the National Anti-Corruption Commission.[32]

After Nakhon Ratchasima shootings in 2020, in which the perpetrator cited corruption in the army as motives, he as the army chief created an anonymous complaint hotline program on 17 February 2020.[33] However, some media reported no concrete achievements.[34] Later in April, an army sergeant filed a complaint about another corruption in the army via the program, but he was retaliated.[35][36][37]

In July 2020, Sereepisuth Temeeyaves, a former police chief and leader of an opposition party Seree Ruam Thai, condemned Apirat's intervention in politics.[38]

Other appointments

Political appointments

After the coup d'état in 2014, General Apirat was appointed as Member of the National Legislative Assembly where he served in of the Foreign Affairs Committee and Local Government Commission. When General Apirat took the office of the Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Army in 2018, he was appointed the Secretary of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). Following the general election in 2019, Gen Apirat was appointed to the Senate where he remained in office until his retirement from the military in 2020.

Civilian appointments

Apart from military and political positions, General Apirat held several important positions in the government and private sectors. In 2000, he was appointed as a member of the Board of Directors of Expressway Authority of Thailand. In 2002, he was appointed to National Science and Technology Development Agency Governing Board.

In 2014, General Apirat was appointed to the board of directors of Bangchak Corporation as an independent director with authorized signature. In the following year, he was appointed as chairman of the board, board of directors of the Government Lottery Office. In the same year, he served as an advisor to the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion. General Apirat also served as a director on the board of directors of TMBThanachart Bank Public Company Limited.

Royal careers

General Apirat was retired from his military position on 30 September 2020. In the same year, His Majesty the King appointed General Apirat as the vice-chamberlain of the Bureau of the Royal Household and the deputy director of the Crown Property Bureau.[39][40]

Personal life

General Apirat is married to Associate Professor Dr. Kritika Kongsompong, a lecturer at SASIN (Chulalongkorn University) and the former host of the Weakest Link show on Channel 3 Thailand. They have a son, Major Pirapong Kongsompong, and a daughter, Major Amarat Kongsompong (MD).

Awards and decorations

National honours

Foreign decorations

References

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  34. ^ "เปิดไทม์ไลน์ "หมู่อาร์ม" บทพิสูจน์ปฏิรูปกองทัพ หลังออกมาแฉอมเบี้ยเลี้ยง กลับถูกสอบผิดหนีทหาร บิ๊กแดงยันทำตามขั้นตอน". 8 June 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-09-16. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
  35. ^ จาก'จ่าคลั่ง'สู่'หมู่อาร์ม' กับคำสัญญา'ปฏิรูปกองทัพ' Archived 2020-07-03 at the Wayback Machine ไทยโพสต์.
  36. ^ "เปิดคำให้การหมู่อาร์มแฉอมเบี้ยเลี้ยงในกองทัพกลับโดน-คดีหนีทหาร". 6 June 2020. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  37. ^ ""หมู่อาร์ม" ลั่นพร้อมขึ้นศาล ถาม "บิ๊กแดง" คืนความยุติธรรมให้ได้หรือไม่". 2 June 2020. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
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  39. ^ "ในหลวง โปรดเกล้าฯ โอน "บิ๊กแดง-ณรัชต์" เป็นรองเลขาธิการพระราชวัง". 15 September 2020.
  40. ^ "โปรดเกล้าฯ "บิ๊กแดง-ณรัชต์" เป็นข้าราชการในพระองค์ ตำแหน่งรองเลขาธิการพระราชวัง". 15 September 2020.
  41. ^ "เรื่อง พระราชทานเครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์ และเหรียญจักรพรรดิมาลา" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-11-22. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  42. ^ "ราชกิจจานุเบกษา เล่ม ๑๓๔ ตอน ๔๗ ข หน้า ๑ ๒๘ กันยายน ๒๕๖๐" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-10-23. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  43. ^ "เรื่อง พระราชทานเครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์ และเหรียญจักรพรรดิมาลา" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-11-22. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  44. ^ "ผู้บัญชาการทหารบกได้รับเครื่องอิสริยาภรณ์ เดอะ ลีเจียน ออฟ เมอริท ชั้น คอมมานเดอร์ (The Legion of Merits (Degree of Commander)) จากรัฐบาลสหรัฐอเมริกา". Archived from the original on 2020-08-08. Retrieved 2020-05-27.[full citation needed]
  45. ^ "พลเอก อภิรัชต์ คงสมพงษ์ ผู้บัญชาการทหารบก เข้าเฝ้าทูลละอองพระบาทสุลต่านอิบราฮิม อิสมาอิล สุลต่านแห่งรัฐยะโฮร์". Archived from the original on 2020-08-08. Retrieved 2020-05-27.[full citation needed]
Military offices Preceded byChalermchai Sitthisart Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army 2018–2020 Succeeded byNarongpan Jitkaewthae
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