Topic: Sonthi Boonyaratkalin

General (Ret.) Sonthi Boonyaratglin (Thai: สนธิ บุญยรัตกลิน, RTGS: Sonthi Bunyaratkalin) (b. 2 October 1946) is former Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army and former head of the Council for National Security, the military junta that ruled the kingdom. He is the first Muslim in charge of the mostly Buddhist army.. On 19 September 2006, he became the de facto head of government of Thailand after overthrowing the elected government in a coup d'état. After retiring from the Army in 2007, he became Deputy Prime Minister, in charge of national security.

Sonthi is a multimillionaire and has two wives, Sukanya and Piyada, despite legal prohibitions against bigamy.

Sonthi Boonyaratglin graduated from the 6th Class of the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School. He graduated from Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy in 1969 as part of Class 17 and was commissioned into the Royal Army Infantry Corps. He went on to lead several top units, including the elite Special Warfare Command based in Lopburi province.