Prime Minister of Thailand Rajanubhab took over this role. In fact, the office most considered the precursor of that of the prime minister was the ancient office of "Samuha Nayok" (สมุหนายก), which was run by an "Akkhra Maha Senabodi" (อัครมหาเสนาบดี) or "chief minister in charge of civilian affairs". The first Prime Minister of Siam was Phraya Manopakorn Nititada, a judge. The title of the office was changed from "Prime Minister "of Siam"" to "Prime Minister "of Thailand"" in 1945 and then permanently with the renaming of Siam to Thailand in 1949. For most of its existence the office has been occupied by Army leaders;
2006 Thai coup d'état replied: "I will." This contradicted earlier public statements where he denied that the military would stage a coup. "The Nation" noted that the timing of the coup contains many instances of the number nine, a highly auspicious number in Thai [[numerology]]. The coup occurred at the 19th day of the 9th month of [[Buddhist Era]] 2549. Coup leader Sonthi Boonyaratglin made a major public announcement on the morning after the coup at 9.39 am. "The Nation" earlier indicated 09:16 as the time for Sonthi's press conference and the [[Buddhist calendar]] is in line with the [[Gregorian calendar]] only since 1941.