The Constitutional Court has elected Udom Sittiwirattham as its new president following four rounds of voting by the court's administrative meeting, the media reported on Wednesday.
Mr Udom prevailed over fellow Constitutional Court judge Chiranit Havanond to become the court's new chief.
He succeeds Nakharin Mektrairat, whose seven-year term as judge effectively ended in November 2024. However, Mr Nakharin had remained in office because the selection process for his successor had been delayed.
The vacancy stemmed from the failure of two nominees for the court seat reserved for a professor in political science or public administration to secure Senate approval.
The unsuccessful nominees were Siripan Noksuan Sawasdee, a political science lecturer at Chulalongkorn University, and Pol Capt Sutham Chuaprakobkit of Mahidol University.
The deadlock was resolved on June 23 when the Senate voted 140-17, with 22 abstentions, to approve Lt Gen Chakkraphong Wiwatwanich, a law professor at the Royal Police Cadet Academy, as a Constitutional Court judge.
With Lt Gen Chakkraphong named judge, the election of the new court president went ahead.
Mr Udom holds a bachelor's degree in law from Ramkhamhaeng University, a Thai Barrister-at-Law qualification, and a master's degree in law from Chulalongkorn University.
During his judicial career, he served as a Navy Judge Advocate before holding several senior judicial positions. These included Appeal Court judge, presiding judge of the Appeal Court, vice president of the Appeal Court, Supreme Court judge, president of the Appeal Court Region 5, presiding judge of the Supreme Court.
