Anupong has been appointed to many military offices, including
inter alia,
commandant of the
21st Infantry Regiment (Queen's Guard), commandant of the 1st Army Division, deputy commander and commander of the 1st Army Region. Anupong was selected by the Prime Minister to hold the position of the commander in chief of the Royal Thai Army on 19 September 2007, and promoted to the position by
Bhumibol Adulyadej on 1 October 2007. He succeeded coup leader General
Sonthi Boonyaratglin. Like his direct successor General Prayut and former defence minister
Prawit Wongsuwan, Anupong is a member of the "Eastern Tigers" clique within the army. Most of them—like Anupong—started their career in the 2nd Infantry Division (headquartered in eastern Thailand), especially in the 21st Infantry Regiment (Queen's Guards). On 2 October 2008,
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, following a
civil insurgency of the
People's Alliance for Democracy ("Yellow Shirts") demanding his
resignation or
impeachment, imposed a
state of emergency throughout Bangkok and appointed Anupong as the leader of the officers in charge. After the
Constitutional Court verdict dissolving the
People's Power Party and two of its coalition parties, Anupong reportedly led closed-door meetings, convincing
Newin Chidchob's
Bhumjaithai Party to desert the government coalition, and organising a new parliamentary majority led by the
Democrat Party and
Abhisit Vejjajiva. On 14 January 2010, Anupong ordered the
suspension of Major General
Khattiya Sawasdipol, the controversial "Seh Daeng", after an inquiry committee found that Khattiya had publicly proclaimed his loyalty to the
United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship ("Red Shirts"), a political group supporting
Thaksin Shinawatra, breaching military discipline. The following day, Anupong's office in the
Royal Thai Army headquarters was attacked by unknown parties using an
M79 grenade launcher. The unoccupied office was slightly damaged. During the
2010 "Red Shirts" uprising, the government of
Abhisit Vejjajiva appointed General Anupong chief officer of the
Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES), in charge of restoring law and order. Thus he was responsible for the bloody
military crackdown on the protest movement in mid-May 2010. Three months later, on 30 August, he was appointed minister of interior in General Prayut's military-dominated government. On 31 August 2023 Anupong expired from the post of Minister of Interior due to the election result that
Srettha Thavisin from
Pheu Thai Party won the
2023 Thai general election. He has already decided to retire from politics because he has been in office since 2014, a total period of 9 years. As a result, he is the third longest-serving Minister of the Interior after Prince
Damrong Rajanubhab and Field Marshal
Praphas Charusathien respectively. ==Personal life==