2014 Thai coup d'état

On 22 May 2014, the Royal Thai Armed Forces, led by General Prayut Chan-o-cha, the commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army, launched a coup d'état, the twelfth since the country's first coup in 1932, against the caretaker government following six months of political crisis. The military established a junta called the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to govern the nation. The coup ended the political conflict between the military-led regime and democratic power, which had been present since the 2006 Thai coup d'état known as the "unfinished coup". Seven years later, it developed into the 2020–2021 Thai protests to reform the monarchy of Thailand.

After dissolving the government and the Senate of Thailand, 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 In addition, it partially repealed the 2007 constitution, save the second chapter that concerned the king, declared martial law and curfew nationwide, banned political gatherings, arrested and detained politicians and anti-coup activists, imposed Internet censorship in Thailand and took control of the media.

The NCPO issued an interim constitution that granted itself amnesty and sweeping power. The NCPO also established a military-dominated national legislature which later unanimously elected Prayut as the new prime minister of the country.

In February 2021, government ministers Puttipong Punnakanta, Nataphol Teepsuwan and Thaworn Senniam were found guilty of insurrection during protests that led to the 2014 coup d'état.