2014 Thai coup d'état | |||||||
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Part of the 2013–14 Thai political crisis | |||||||
Thai soldiers at the Chang Phueak Gate in Chiang Mai. |
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Belligerents | |||||||
National Council for Peace and Order | Yingluck cabinet | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Prayut Chan-o-cha | Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan |
Thai military takeover
On 22 May 2014, the Royal Thai Armed Forces, led by General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Commander of the Royal Thai Army (RTA), launched a coup d'état, the 12th since the country's first coup in 1932, against the caretaker government of Thailand, following six months of political crisis. The military established a junta called the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to govern the nation.
After dissolving the government and the Senate, the NCPO vested executive and legislative powers in its leader and ordered the judicial branch to operate under its directives. In addition, it partially repealed the 2007 constitution, saved the second chapter which concerns the king, declared martial law and curfew nationwide, banned political gatherings, arrested and detained politicians and anti-coup activists, imposed internet censorship and took control of the media.
The NCPO issued an interim constitution granting itself amnesty and sweeping power. The NCPO also established a military dominated national legislature which later unanimously elected General Prayut as the new prime minister of the country.