HM KING MahaVajiralongkorn has chosen SomdetPhraMahaMuneewong, the abbot of Ratchabophit Temple 

for the top ecclesiastical post after having been vacant since Somdet Phra Yannasangwon died in 2013. And with agreement from the clergy and the laity for his qualifiedness; solitude, modesty, and without any scandals.

In the background, SomdetPhraMahaMuneewong has already been in the saffron robe for eight decades. Born on June 26, 1927, as AmbhornPrasattapong, 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 RachaKhara 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.

Reference: The Nation News