DHAKA: Thailand's junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha has been named the new prime minister of the southeast Asian nation.

Gen Prayuth, 60, was nominated on Thursday in a legislature hand-picked by the junta and made up of mostly military and police figures, reports BBC.

The general was the head of the army when he led a dramatic coup in May.

It followed months of intense political deadlock between Yingluck Shinawatra's government and opposition parties that resulted in protests and clashes.

BDST: 1004 HRS, AUG 21, 2014