 An ethnic Chinese of Hainanese origin, He replaced Pridiyathorn Devakula after Pridiyathorn abruptly resigned.Chalongphob joined several other TDRI-affiliated individuals who had Cabinet-level seats in the junta, including Deputy Prime Minister and Industry Minister Kosit Panpiemras and Energy Minister Piyasvasti Amranand.Prior to joining the cabinet, Chalongphob had no experience in government and was an economist.