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Chaiyasit Shinawatra is a former commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army^[1]. As a cousin of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, his appointment was criticised as an act of nepotism.

General Chaiyasit was transferred from the Army to become a special advisor to the Supreme Command Headquarters under the administration of Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai.^[2] In August 2001, General Chaiyasit was promoted to deputy commander of the Armed Forces Development Command.^[3] In August 2002, he was promoted to the post of deputy commander-in-chief.

Both General Chaiyasit and the Defence Minister, General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, denied accusations of nepotism. "If I'm appointed to a significant post in the Army because of my connection with the prime minister, I won't have any friends left in the armed forces," said Chaiyasit. Gen Chavalit said that Thaksin would not interfere with any high-level military reshuffles, and that "It's a shame that the prime minister's name was tainted by such a groundless rumour." ^[4]

General Chaiyasit replaced General Surayud Chulanont (who was promoted to become supreme commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces) as commander-in-chief in August 2003. ^[5]

He was replaced as army chief in 2004, succeeded by Prawit Wongsuwan,^{[6] [7]} and was transferred to Supreme Command. Chaisit was then replaced as supreme commander in 2005, succeeded by Gen. Ruangroj Mararanont. ^[8]

References

1. ^ Nation staff. August 25, 2006. "Former Army chief sues Sondhi", The Nation(retrieved September 20, 2006).
2. ^ The Nation (Thailand), Thaksin cousin tipped for No 2 spot - 2002-08-21
3. ^ The Nation (Thailand), Reshuffle seen as less political - 2001-08-09
4. ^ The Nation (Thailand), Chaiyasit transfer "not PM's idea" - 2002-08-08
5. ^ The Nation (Thailand), Chaiyasit, PM’s power base more solid than ever - 2003-08-31
6. ^ Nation staff. August 25, 2004. "MILITARY RE-SHUFFLE: Chaisit out, Prawit ascends", The Nation {retrieved September 20, 2006.
7. ^ Nation staff. August 25, 2004. "Prawit, a battle-hardened leader", The Nation (retrieved September 20, 2006).
8. ^ Nation staff. September 8, 2005. "Long-delayed military reshuffle approved", The Nation (retrieved September 20, 2006).