On 22 May 2014, the Royal Thai Armed Forces, led by General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Commander of the Royal Thai Army (RTA), launched a coup d'tat, the 12th since the country's first coup in 1932, against the caretaker government of Thailand, following six months of political crisis. The military established a junta called the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to govern the nation. The coup ended the political conflict between the military-led regime and democratic power, which was still going on from 2006 Thai coup d'tat known as the unfinished coup. 7 years later, it has developed into 2020 Thai protests to reform the monarchy of Thailand.

After dissolving the government and the Senate, the NCPO vested executive and legislative powers in its leader and ordered the judicial branch to operate under its directives. In addition, it partially repealed the 2007 constitution, save the second chapter which concerns the king, declared martial law and curfew nationwide, banned political gatherings, arrested and detained politicians and anti-coup activists, imposed Internet censorship and took control of the media.

The NCPO issued an interim constitution granting itself amnesty and sweeping power. The NCPO also established a military-dominated national legislature which later unanimously elected General Prayut as the new prime minister of the country.In February 2021, government ministers Puttipong Punnakanta, Nataphol Teepsuwan and Thaworn Senniam were found guilty of insurrection during protests that led to the 2014 coup d'tat.

Prayut Chan-o-cha (sometimes spelled Prayuth Chan-ocha; Thai: ประยุทธ์ จันทร์โอชา, pronounced [prā.jút tɕān.ʔōː.tɕʰāː]; born 21 March 1954) is a Thai politician and a former Royal Thai Army military officer, who seized power as Prime Minister of Thailand in 2014. He has also served as Minister of Defence since 2019. Prayut served as chief of the Thai army from 2010 to 2014 and lead the 2014 Thai coup d'état which installed the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), the military junta which governed Thailand between 22 May 2014 and 10 July 2019.

After his appointment as army chief in 2010, Prayut was characterised as a royalist and an opponent of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Considered a hardliner within the military, he was one of the leading proponents of military crackdowns on the Red Shirt demonstrations of April 2009 and April–May 2010. He later sought to moderate his profile, talking to relatives of protesters who were killed in the bloody conflict, and co-operating with the government of Yingluck Shinawatra who won parliamentary elections in July 2011.

During the political crisis that began in November 2013 and involved protests against the caretaker government of Yingluck, Prayut claimed that the army was neutral and would not launch a coup. However, in May 2014, Prayut launched a military coup against the government and assumed control of the country as dictator and leader of the National Council for Peace and Order, a military junta. He later issued an interim constitution granting himself sweeping powers and giving himself amnesty for staging the coup. In August 2014, an unelected military-dominated national legislature appointed him as Prime Minister.After seizing power, Prayut's government oversaw a significant crackdown on dissent. He formulated “twelve values” based on traditional Thai values and suggested that these be included in school lessons. Measures were implemented to limit public discussions about democracy and criticism of the government, including increases in Internet and media censorship. Prayut was re-elected as Prime Minister of Thailand following the disputed 2019 Thai general election. Prayut later used Thailand's lèse-majesté laws, which are unusually strict, to prosecute protesters. Many co-leaders have been detained throughout 2021.