Pol Gen Samran wins unanimous vote to become new police chief
Pol Gen Samran Nualma will become Thailand's next national police chief after securing a unanimous 12-0 vote from the Police Commission Board on Wednesday, replacing Pol Gen Kitrat Panphet, who is due to retire in September.
The appointment was approved at a meeting of the Police Commission Board chaired by Prime Minister Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.
Pol Gen Samran, one of four senior candidates considered for the post, will become the 16th commissioner-general of the Royal Thai Police.
With mandatory retirement not due until 2033, he is expected to have one of the longest remaining tenures of any police chief.
Born on June 14, 1973, in Phetchaburi province, Pol Gen Samran graduated from the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School Class 34 and the Royal Police Cadet Academy Class 50.
He holds master's and doctoral degrees in political science from Ramkhamhaeng University and is currently studying for a law degree at Thammasat University.
He has also completed specialised training, including the FBI-ALERRT Active Shooter Response programme and courses at the SIG SAUER Academy in the United States.
He spent much of his career with the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB)'s Patrol and Special Operations Division (191).
In 2021, he was appointed commissioner of the MPB, followed by promotions to assistant national police chief in 2022 and deputy national police chief in October 2025.
Pol Gen Samran was a member of the Arintharat 26 special operations unit that helped end the deadly mass shooting at Terminal 21 Korat shopping mall in 2020.
As Bangkok police chief in 2021, he oversaw operations to restore order during street unrest in the Din Daeng area.
In 2025, he also played a key role in operations to locate and safely dispose of 16 improvised explosive devices in Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi provinces.
Pol Gen Samran headed Operation Dragon Scale, which dismantled a criminal network accused of fraudulently obtaining Thai nationality by paying Thai men to falsely register as fathers on birth certificates.
Pol Gen Samran has pledged to base promotions and assignments on merit rather than regional or institutional affiliations, under the principle of "put the right man in the right job."
He has also promoted greater use of technology in policing, including the Police Road Safety (PRS) database, which analyses road accident data to improve prevention measures and reduce traffic fatalities and injuries.