“I submitted five names for His Majesty the King to consider. On Monday night, I was told the monarch has already made the decision,” Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha said yesterday.

The King will perform an investiture ceremony to establish Somdet Phra Maha Muneewong as the country’s highest-ranking monk at 5pm on Sunday and the ritual will be shown live via the TV pool. The new Supreme Patriarch will be known as Somdet Phra Ariyawongsak-hatayan (Ambhorn Ambharo).

“Held in line with ancient tradition, the ceremony will take place at the Emerald Buddha Temple,” Prayut said.

He added that His Majesty had the power to name the Supreme Patriarch, so no one should trigger a conflict over his choice.

The top ecclesiastical post has been vacant since Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara Sangharaja died in 2013.

Somdet Phra Maha Ratcha Mangkhlachan, also known as Somdet Chuang, the abbot of Paknam Temple, had served as the acting Supreme Patriarch but his nomination for the top post by the Sangha Supreme Council was unsuccessful.

Even though the council officially issued the nomination under an applicable law early last year, Prayut said he could not submit the nomination for royal endorsement due to opposition from various sides.

Somdet Phra Maha Ratcha Mangkhlachan has been embroiled in several scandals, including the one about an “illegal” vintage Mercedes-Benz in his possession.

Late last year, the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) amended the Monastic Act in a way that gives the King the power to name the new Supreme Patriarch. Without the amendment, Somdet Phra Maha Muneewong would not have been able to become the new Supreme Patriarch because he is less senior than Somdet Phra Maha Ratcha Mangkhlachan.

Somdet Phra Maha Muneewong, 89, secured the senior Phra Racha Khana rank only in 2009. Somdet Phra Maha Ratcha Mangkhlachan, 91, has held the ranking since 1995.

But in the background, Somdet Phra Maha Muneewong has already been in the saffron robe for eight decades.

Born on June 26, 1927, as Ambhorn Prasattapong, he became a novice monk at the age of 10. Studying Dhamma at a temple in his home province of Ratchaburi, it took him just three years to complete the Dhamma Scholar, Elementary Level. By 1943, he had already completed the Dhamma Scholar, Advanced Level.

In 1947, a senior monk recommended him to the then-Supreme Patriarch Vas Vassano, enabling him to move to Ratchabophit Temple in Bangkok, where he studied Dhamma further and was ordained a monk in 1948.

After completing the Pali Scholar Level 6 in 1950, he pursued further monastic education at the country’s Mahamakut Buddhist University. In 1957, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in religious studies.

After his graduation, he headed to India and studied for a master’s degree in history and archaeology at Banaras Hindu University.

He received an honorary doctorate degree from the Mahamakut Buddhist University in 2009, the year he secured the Racha Khara rank. In 2010, the Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University also conferred on him an honorary doctorate degree.

He has been abbot of the Ratchabophit Temple, a senior member of the Dhammayuti Order, and a member of the Sangha Supreme Council.