Sonthi Boonyaratglin

Sonthi Boonyaratglin (สนธิ บุญยรัตกลิน,, ; born 2 October 1946) is a Thai former Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army and former head of the Council for National Security, the military junta that ruled the kingdom.

He was the first Muslim in charge of the army of the mostly Buddhist country.

He graduated from Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy in 1969 as part of Class 17 and was commissioned into the Royal Army Infantry Corps.

He went on to lead several top units, including the elite Special Warfare Command based in Lopburi province.

In August 2004, Sonthi was appointed Deputy Army Commander.

Against public expectations, Sonthi was promoted to Army Commander in October 2005.

Sonthi's fast rise was backed by retired armed forces Supreme Commander General Surayud Chulanont (with whom he had served while leading the Special Warfare Command and Privy Council President General Prem Tinsulanonda).

Both serve as advisers to King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

He later received a doctor's degree in political science from the open-admission Ramkhamhaeng University.

As Army Commander, General Sonthi repeatedly assured the public that the army would not interfere in the political crisis, although he has said that "His Majesty must have been saddened" by the nation's political problems.

He has also protested Thaksin's unsuccessful attempt to promote a large number of his own former classmates from Class 10 of the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School to army units responsible for Bangkok's security.

After being appointed Army Commander in 2005, Sonthi expressed confidence that he could resolve the insurgency.

He claimed that he would take a "new and effective" approach to a crisis and that "The army is informed [of who the insurgents are] and will carry out their duties."

Sonthi was granted an extraordinary increase in executive powers to combat unrest in the far South.

On 19 September 2006, he became the de facto head of government of Thailand after overthrowing the elected government in a coup d'état.

The 2006 annual military reshuffle was delayed due to the political crisis, as caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra denied that he planned to remove Sonthi as Army Commander.

Despite this, Sonthi consolidating his personal power base by transferring out 129 mid-ranking officers under generals that he thought were loyal to the Prime Minister.

Some observers saw this as a message to the Government that Sonthi was still firmly in charge of the Army.

As late as May 2006, Sonthi publicly denied the need for a military coup:

Whenever soldiers get involved in politics, it seems that the nation's problems begin to escalate and become worse.

Military officers, accordingly, must step back from politics.

With that firm and clear stance, I assure everyone that there definitely won't be a coup.

However, up to 19 September 2006, the Army admitted that they had no idea who the insurgents were.

The drastic escalation of the insurgency during his leadership of the Army led to much public criticism of Army efforts.

While assigned to the South, Sonthi suggested that former communist insurgents might be playing a role in the unrest.

Leaders of the southern provinces displayed skepticism over his suggestion and investigations did not reveal any communist link.

Sonthi was also blamed for failing to rescue two teachers who had been kidnapped and severely beaten by a mob in May 2006.

In August 2006, after 22 commercial banks were simultaneously bombed in Yala province, Sonthi announced that he would break with government policy and negotiate with the leaders of the insurgency.

However, he noted that "We still don't know who is the real head of the militants we are fighting with."

In a press conference the next day, he attacked the government for criticizing him for trying to negotiate with the anonymous insurgents, and demanded that the government "Free the military and let it do the job."

Afterwards, insurgents bombed 6 department stores in Hat Yai city, which up until then had been free of insurgent activities.

As always, the identity of the insurgents was not revealed.

On 8 September, Deputy Prime Minister Chitchai Wannasathit promised to give Sonthi increased powers to better deal with the insurgency.

However, by 19 September 2006, the Army admitted that it still was unsure whom to negotiate with.

Three days later, Sonthi led a coup against the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Sonthi's former superiors, Deputy Prime Minister for national security Chitchai Wannasathit and Defense Minister Thammarak Isarangkura na Ayudhaya were immediately arrested.

After retiring from the Army in 2007, he became Deputy Prime Minister, in charge of national security.

Sonthi is a multimillionaire and has two wives, Sukanya and Piyada, despite legal prohibitions against bigamy.

Sonthi Boonyaratglin graduated from the 6th Class of the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School.

One of them, 24-year-old Juling Pangamoon from Chiang Rai, was long in a coma and attracted fame for the attention paid to her by the royal family of Thailand, finally dying from her brutal beating in January 2009.