| Native Name Lang: | th |
| Term Start: | 26 October 2010 |
| Term End: | 30 October 2017 |
| Office: | Rector of Thammasat University |
| Somkit Lertpaithoon | |
| Succeeded: | Gasinee Witoonchart |
| Preceded: | Surapon Nitikraipot |
Somkit Lertpaithoon is a Thai academic administrator who served as rector of Thammasat University from 2010 to 2017.[1]
Following the 2006 Thai coup d'état, Somkit served on the as a member of the 2007 constitution drafting committee. In 2011, a group of 100 Thammasat alumni called for Somkit's resignation, criticizing his and his predecessor Surapon Nitikraipot's failure to "uphold the university’s spirit of democracy".[2]
Following the 2014 Thai coup d'état, Somkit was appointed to the NCPO-picked National Legislative Assembly (NLA). In August 2014, a group of students identifying as the League of Liberal Thammasat for Democracy (LLTD) presented a letter to Somkit asking him to clarify his ties to the military.
In February 2015, Somkit signed an order to end the employment of Somsak Jeamteerasakul, a leading critic of the military junta.[3]