Thanasak Patimaprakorn
| Thanasak Patimaprakorn ธนะศักดิ์ ปฏิมาประกร |
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Thai Chief of Defense Forces Gen. Thanasak Patimaprakorn with U.S. Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey.
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| Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand | |
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Assumed office 30 August 2014 |
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| Prime Minister | Prayuth Chan-ocha |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
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In office 30 August 2014 – 20 September 2015 |
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| Prime Minister | Prayuth Chan-ocha |
| Preceded by | Surapong Tovichakchaikul |
| Succeeded by | Don Pramudwinai |
| Chief of the Defence Forces | |
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In office 1 October 2011 – 30 September 2014 |
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| Preceded by | Songkitti Jaggabatara |
| Succeeded by | Worapong Sanganetra |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
9 November 1953 Thailand |
| Spouse(s) | Penluck Patimaprakorn |
| Alma mater |
National Defence College Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 Thailand
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| Service/branch |
 Royal Thai Army
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| Years of service | 1972–2014 |
| Rank |
.svg){kind=small} General
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| Commands | Commander-in-Chief |
Thanasak Patimaprakorn is the current deputy prime minister and former foreign minister of Thailand. He was appointed by current Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on September 1, 2014 and previously served as Thailand's chief of defense forces.
Patimaprakorn served as Thailand's chief of defense forces from 2011 to 2014. In this position, he oversaw combat readiness and commanded military operations in all three branches of the Royal Thai Armed Forces. His position was at the top of the military chain of command, although in practice he remained subordinate to army chief Prayut Chan-o-cha.
On May 22, 2014, it was announced that Patimaprakorn would serve as the Deputy-Head of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). He is one of 11 military officers appointed to the 32-member cabinet. This announcement took place during the Thai military coup of 2014. It was initially thought that the military had no interest in a coup, as Patimaprakorn had made a public statement in early May 2014 suggesting as much.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has stated that the goals of the NCPO are greater political stability and reforms for Thailand, and Patimaprakorn supported that statement in his message to the United Nations in September 2014. He stated that Thailand was "not retreating from democracy; it just needed time and space to bring about reconciliation, undertake political reforms and strengthen democratic institutions." In a meeting with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Pratimaprakorn has also acknowledged the importance of addressing climate change and extremism in Thailand.
Pratimaprakorn has also addressed the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). In his remarks in June 2015, he mentioned the need for combating extremism once again, in addition to expressing a need for greater disaster management in Asia and emphasizing Thailand's efforts to address human trafficking. He ended his remarks by stating that Thailand would be happy to work as a bridge between OSCE and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
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