Thai cabinet approves transfer of Phuket governor in reshuffle amid conflict among senior local officials

Thailand's cabinet has approved the transfer of Phuket Governor Nirat Pongsitthavorn to the post of deputy permanent secretary of the Interior Ministry, with Chotinrin Kerdsom, currently a deputy permanent secretary, appointed to replace him as Phuket governor.

The reshuffle was approved at a cabinet meeting on June 16, 2026, according to the source report. It came after conflict involving senior Interior Ministry administrators in Phuket.

The report said the Interior Ministry had also ordered the transfer of two Phuket deputy governors who had been involved in problems, moving them to deputy governor posts in other provinces on the evening of June 15.

Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the transfer order was intended to improve work efficiency, following a proposal from the permanent secretary of the Interior Ministry to accelerate solutions to problems in Phuket. He described Phuket as an important economic city.

Anutin said he had personally visited the area to follow the situation and found that many problems had not yet been resolved in a concrete way. He said the latest action would serve as a "Phuket sandbox" so that similar problems would not occur in other provinces.

He also said the government would not allow encroachment on beach land, the blocking of public access to public areas, or the use of influence and intimidation in the area. According to the report, he said those issues could not wait for the outcome of investigations or fact-finding committees, and that the Interior Ministry had been assigned to move quickly to address them.