Thailand's military ruling council has picked the prime minister of an interim civilian government nine days after the Sept. 19 coup d'etat, the council's deputy chief and Navy chief Sathiraphan Keyanont announced on Thursday.

However, the identity of the prime minister designate remains shrouded in mystery as Sathiraphan declined to reveal his name.
 
Following over a week's wait, the new prime minister was unanimously approved by the Council for Democratic Reform (CDR), which pledged to appoint a prime minister and hand over power to an interim civilian government within two weeks.

Sathiraphan said the CDR members were confident that the new government leader would be acceptable to the Thai people, adding that CDR leader, army chief Sonthi Boonyaratkalin will be the one to announce the designate at a right time.

Asked whether the new prime minister is a civilian or a military figure, Sathiraphan pointed to a uniformed senior military officer standing nearby and said, "someone who is not dressed like this," implying the new government leader is unlikely to be a military figure. This should come as a reassuring gesture to members of the international community, concerned at a military junta taking over in the touristic South Asian nation. 

According to CDR's announcement, the interim government will run for about one year and a general election will be held after the completion of a new constitution.

Thai media have speculated that the main contenders are retired general and privy councilor Surayud Chulanont and former World Trade Organization director-general Supachai Panitchpakdi who could be seen as an internationally-palatable choice.

(Xinhua News Agency September 29, 2006)