Udomdej Sitabutr

His Excellency
Udomdej Sitabutr
MPCh MWM RM
His Excellency Udomdej Sitabutr MPCh MWM RM
อุดมเดช สีตบุตร
	Udomdej Sitabutr at Asia Security Summit in 2017
Deputy Minister of Defence
	In office; 30 August 2014 – 23 November 2017
Prime Minister	Prayut Chan-o-cha
Minister	Prawit Wongsuwon
Preceded by	Yuthasak Sasiprapha
Succeeded by	Chaichan Changmongkol
Commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army
	In office; 1 October 2014 – 30 September 2015
Preceded by	Prayut Chan-o-cha
Succeeded by	Thirachai Nakwanich
Personal details
Born	15 August 1955; Bangkok, Thailand
Spouse	Vidapa Sitabutr
Children	2
Alma mater	Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy; National Defence College;
Nickname	Dong
Military service
Allegiance	Thailand
Branch/service	Royal Thai Army
Years of service	1978–2015
Rank	General
Commands	Commander in Chief (Army)
Battles/wars	Communist insurgency in Thailand; Vietnamese border raids in Thailand
Awards	Rama Medal; Freemen Safeguarding Medal (Second Class, First Category); Border Service Medal; Chakra Mala Medal; Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera);

Udomdej Sitabutr (Thai: อุดมเดช สีตบุตร, born 15 August 1955) is a Thai military officer. He served as Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army from 2014 to 2015.[1]

Education

Udomdej studied at Saint Gabriel's College, an all-boys school. He then decided to go into a military career and proceeded to study at Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School (Class 14) and Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy (Class 25). Once finished in cadet school, he studied at Command and General Staff College (Class 65) and National Defence College (Class 57).

Career

Sitabutr succeeded Prayuth Chan-ocha, who in May 2014, had seized power in a coup d'état.

He concurrently served as Secretary-General of the junta, the National Council for Peace and Order. During his tenure he was implicated in the Rajabhakti Park scandal, having overseen its construction as Chairman of the Rajabhakti Foundation.[2][3]

Udomdej retired in 2015 and was succeeded by Theerachai Nakvanich, with whom he had had a long-running feud.[4]

Early life

He is the youngest of six children. One of his older siblings, Paisarn Sitabutr, is himself a retired Air Chief Marshal in the Royal Thai Air Force and a member of the National Legislative Assembly.

Honours

Udomdej received the following royal decorations in the Honours System of Thailand:

2014 - Knight Grand Cordon of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant
2011 - Knight Grand Cordon of the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand
1990 - Member of the Rama Mala Medal of the Honourable Order of Rama
1986 - Freemen Safeguarding Medal (Second Class, First Category)
1991 - Border Service Medal
1998 - Chakra Mala Medal

References

Nanuam, Wassana (25 August 2015). "Gen Thirachai named as new army chief". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
""พล.อ.อุดมเดช" รับมีเรียกหัวคิวอุทยานราชภักดิ์". Thai PBS (in Thai). 2015-11-10. Retrieved 2018-11-02.
Ltd.Thailand, VOICE TV (17 October 2017). "Voice TV 21". VoiceTV. Retrieved 2018-11-02.
Nanuam, Wassana (6 October 2015). "Long-running rift between Theerachai, Udomdej flares". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 6 October 2018.

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[BK_post-1] Nanuam, Wassana (25 August 2015). "Gen Thirachai named as new army chief". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 6 October 2018.

[2] ""พล.อ.อุดมเดช" รับมีเรียกหัวคิวอุทยานราชภักดิ์". Thai PBS (in Thai). 2015-11-10. Retrieved 2018-11-02.

[3] Ltd.Thailand, VOICE TV (17 October 2017). "Voice TV 21". VoiceTV. Retrieved 2018-11-02.

[Udomdej_na_Thirachai-4] Nanuam, Wassana (6 October 2015). "Long-running rift between Theerachai, Udomdej flares". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 6 October 2018.