Former World Trade Organization (WTO) head Supachai Panitchpakdi has tentatively accepted an invitation from Thailand's new military rulers to be interim prime minister.
Mr Supachai, now head of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in Geneva, agreed to the post after persuasion from a top royal adviser, the English-language Nationreported.
WTO Director General Supachai Panitchpakdi
Thai-language newspapers carried similar reports.
Within days of the military coup on September 19th against billionaire Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Mr Supachai had emerged as the favourite to run the country on an interim basis pending the drafting of a new constitution.
Besides his international experience, the Netherlands-educated bureaucrat has held a number of government posts, including that of commerce minister after the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
Army chief Sonthi Boonyaratglin, who has promised an interim civilian prime minister will be in place within two weeks of the coup, refused to confirm the reports, emphasising mainly that the appointee must be honest.
The interim prime minister would have free rein to make decisions and appoint his own 35-member cabinet under an interim constitution that would be submitted for royal approval at the end of the week, he said.
