Songkitti Jaggabatara

General Songkitti Jaggabatara[1] (Thai: ทรงกิตติ จักกาบาตร์; RTGS: Songkitti Chakkabat; born December 22, 1950) was the Chief of Defence Forces, Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters (CDF, RTARF) from October 1, 2008 until his retirement from active service on October 1, 2011.

Songkitti Jaggabatara
Songkitti Jaggabatara in full dress uniform of 1st Cavalry Regiment, King's Guard (2011)
Native name
ทรงกิตติ จักกาบาตร์
Nickname(s)Tui (Thai: ตุ้ย)
Born (1950-12-22) 22 December 1950
Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand
Allegiance Thailand
Service/branch Royal Thai Army
Years of service1972–2011
RankGeneral
Commands held
Battles/wars

Military life

General Songkitti was educated in many schools in various parts of Thailand before attending the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School Class 10 as a pre-cadet in 1967 as a prerequisite for attending Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy (CRMA). In 1977 he graduated from CRMA as a cavalry officer. In the early years of his service, he fought in the war, in north of Thailand, with communist insurgency who had begun the low intensity armed struggle in the South, North and Northeast Thailand. He also served on the Thailand-Cambodian border during 1982 when the border situation there was very tense after Vietnam invaded Cambodia in 1978. In 2003, he commanded the 4th Army Area for 6 months and became Superintendent of CRMA. Before he was appointed as Chief of Defence Forces, he was Chief of Joint Staff, RTARF.

In April 2009, he was appointed by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva as the Director of Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES)[2] with mandate to peacefully resolve political unrest by National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship, also known as "Red Shirt" movement, a political pressure group supporting Thaksin Shinawatra, in Bangkok during April 2009[3]

Peacekeeping Mission in East Timor

General Songkitti came to international fame in 1999 when, as a Major General, he led the Thai Joint Task Force 972 Thai/East Timor as a military contingent from Thailand contributed to the International Force for East Timor (INTERFET). He was, concurrently, second in command of INTERFET while Major General Peter Cosgrove, from Australia, was the commander. In 2000, he was awarded Honorary Member (AM) in the Order of Australia in the Military Division[4] and the INTERFET MEDAL for his exceptional service to the INTERFET.

Later in November 2002, he accepted the invitation from University of Melbourne, Australia to share his views from the operations in the seminar on The Rule of Law on Peace Operations[5]

Personal life

General Songkitti Jaggabatara is married with two adult daughters and one teenage son. He lives in Bangkok.

Honours

Royal decorations
  • Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant[6]: 2 
  • Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand[7]: 13 
  • Freemen Safeguarding Medal (Second Class, Second Category)
  • Border Service Medal
  • Chakra Mala Medal
  • Boy Scout Citation Medal of Vajira First Class

Foreign honours

References
  1. Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters (RTARF), "Biography" Archived 2011-04-18 at the Wayback Machine, in Thai and English
  2. Mass Communication Organization of Thailand, Archived 2011-07-25 at the Wayback Machine, "Thai: ผอ.กอฉ.ยัน จนท.จะไม่ใช้อาวุธผลักดันผู้ชุมนุม", political news section, MCOT, April 13, 2009
  3. Seth Mydans and Thomas Fuller, "Thai Leader Urges Calm Amid Widening Protests", The New York Times, April 13, 2009
  4. Australian Minister of Defence's Media Release, "Thai General Honoured for Service in East Timor", October 6, 2000", retrieved on March 24, 2011
  5. The University of Melbourne,"Media Release on Keeping the rule of law on Peace operations" University of Melbourne, Australia, retrieved on March 24, 2011
  6. "Royal decoration list for 2007" (PDF). Royal Thai Government Gazette. 5 December 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 10, 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  7. "Royal decoration list for 2004" (PDF). Royal Thai Government Gazette. 26 November 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 7, 2007. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  8. Rhsukarsa (2010-02-12). "Berita HanKam: Panglima TNI Terima Panglima Angkatan Bersenjata Thailand". Berita HanKam. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
  9. Brunei Times, "Thai defence chief visits MinDef", retrieved on March 26, 2011
  10. MINDEF Singapore, "President Nathan Confers Top Military Award on Thai Chief of Defence Forces", "retrieved on March 26, 2001"
  11. SINGAPORE NEWS, "Thai Chief of Defence conferred S'pore's highest military award", retrieved on March 26, 2011
  • Royal Thai Armed Forces Armed Headquarters official website, Military Rank Insignia of Royal Thai Army
  • Armed Force Academies Preparatory School (Thai: โรงเรียนเตรียมทหาร)
  • Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters (Thai: กองบัญชาการกองทัพไทย)
  • Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy(Thai: โรงเรียนนายร้อยพระจุลจอมเกล้า (รร.จปร.))
  • Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES)(Thai: ศูนย์อำนวยการแก้ไขสถานการณ์ฉุกเฉิน (ศอฉ.))
  • 4th Army Area (Thai: กองทัพภาพที่ ๔(ทภ.๔))
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