The Board of the Royal Thai Police on Friday voted 5-0 for Pol Gen Chakthip Chaijinda to succeed police chief Gen Somyot Pumpunmuang, who retires on Sept 30.
The board met at an army club in the compound of the 1st Infantry Regiment on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road in Bangkok Friday morning.
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon chaired the meeting. He is the vice-chairman of the police board while chairman Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha was absent.
Pol Gen Chakthip, 55, is the least senior of the five deputies. He is the youngest officer ever appointed to the job of national police chief in Thailand.
Earlier, Pol Gen Aek Angsananont, the most senior of all the deputies, was tipped as the other favoured candidate. Pol Gen Aek is well respected for his interrogation skills and his most recent achievement was cracking the Rohingya case this year.
Pol Gen Aek attended the same school as Prime Minister Prayut and is a classmate of the premier's brother Gen Preecha, a prime candidate as the new army commander-in-chief. He graduated from Ramkhamhaeng University's law faculty. After he received a call to the bar, he completed a master's degree in law at Chulalongkorn University.
Pol Gen Ek may become permanent secretary of the Social Development and Human Security Ministry. (Bangkok Post file photo)
Pol Gen Chakthip, who retires in 2020, reportedly had an edge because of his reputation as a top detective. He has experience handling protest mobs and good relations with various circles.
The new police chief was in Class 20 of the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School, the training ground for both policemen and soldiers, so he has close connections with key military officers.
After he finished the Royal Police Cadet Academy where he was in Class 36, he earned a master's degree in public administration at Kentucky State University in the US.
He also attended the International Law Enforcement Academy (ATF-ILEA) and took an FBI course in Nevada.
Pol Gen Chakthip also supervised security affairs in relation to political demonstrations and violence in southern border provinces, and worked closely with Gen Prawit and key military figures who supported his promotion, said a source.
Thai Rath Online reported Pol Gen Aek had already been contacted to become the new permanent secretary of the Social Development and Human Security Ministry.