Thailand's Monarchy

On June 9, 1996, citizens of Thailand celebrated the 50th anniversary of the accession to the throne of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The Royal Thai Government, the Thai people, and friends around the world have organized year-long celebrations to commemorate this joyful and auspicious event. Having reigned for half a century, His Majesty is the longest-reigning Thai monarch.

The ninth king of the Chakri Dynasty, established in the 18th century, King Bhumibol is revered for His intelligence, vision, grace, and for His concern for all His subjects. As the supreme guardian of Thailand's Buddhist religion, the King is the symbol of Thailand's cultural identity. A widely accepted Thai view is that the well-being and tranquility of the nation mostly depend upon the morality of the ruler and the ruled. In this connection, the Thai people can consider themselves blessed since, throughout His reign, His Majesty has lived a virtuous life and devoted Himself to promoting public welfare, both material and spiritual.

Thailand is a constitutional monarchy with a democratic form of government. Since 1932, kings of Thailand have exercised their constitutional legislative powers through a bicameral National Assembly comprised of a House of Representatives elected by popular vote and a Senate appointed by the King upon recommendation of the Prime Minister. Thai kings exercise executive powers through the cabinet headed by a prime minister, and judicial powers through the law courts. While not directly involved in Thailand's political life, the King exerts a strong moral influence on carefully selected issues.

His Majesty the King was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on December 5, 1927. Married to Queen Sirikit, King Bhumibol is the father of four grown children. Like the King, all members of His royal family perform duties in the interest and welfare of the Thai people.
Known to many as the "working monarch", King Bhumibol travels the remote rural areas of the vast reaches of His country to develop more complete and first-hand understanding of the assets and hardships of His subjects. During His time on the throne, His Majesty has launched a multitude of development projects alleviating disease, promoting a better rural economy, and preserving and protecting Thailand's natural environment. A large number of projects result from His Majesty's own experimentation and are funded from His private funds. Projects showing satisfactory results are passed on to the Government for further development.

During his years of King Bhumibol's reign, Thailand has enjoyed enviable economic growth. With its agrarian base and dynamic private sector as its bedrock, Thailand boasts a complex export-led economy which embraces the latest technologies and includes tourism, agriculture, manufacturing, minerals, and communications.

 An Overview of Government and Politics in Thailand

The Government House

Thailand's government structure has undergone gradual evolution in response to the changing environment. Despite the preservation of the kingdom's monarchical system, established over 700 years ago, Thailand have become one of Asia's strongest democracies in a relatively short period of time. It has a check-and-balance system similar to that of any Western democracy, with a Prime Minister as the head of government.
From Absolute Monarchy to Parliamentary Democracy
The first Thai state, the Kingdom of Sukhothai (1257-1378), adopted a paternalistic form of government. The King, while enjoying absolute power, personally paid close attention to his subjects' well-being. However, Sukhothai was a fragmented city-state and the lack of a centralised government led to its fall in the late 1300's. Its decline coincided with the rise of the increasingly powerful Ayutthaya Kingdom to the South. During the Ayutthaya period, the power of the monarch rose, as Ayutthaya inherited a Khmer system of government based upon the Hindu concept of divine kingship. Under the reign of King Borommatrailokkanat (1448-1488), Ayutthaya's political administration underwent a major reform. The sakdina, a feudal system which allowed almost everyone in the kingdom to hold land based on their rank, satisfying both nobles and commoners, and lasted until the 19th century. Moreover, the civil and military administrations were separated and the government was centralised, making Ayutthaya one of Southeast Asia's strongest and richest empires for three centuries.
The capital was moved to Bangkok in 1782, marking the beginning of the Rattanakosin period, which saw the continuation of the Ayutthaya system of government. Thus, for over three centuries, Thailand's political administration was by and large carried out without drastic reform.
Nevertheless, by mid 1800's, the threat of imperialism became a major issue. King Chulalongkorn (1868-1910), seeing the need for political reform, decentralised the government. He carried out a major reorganisation of the central and local administrations, which formed the basis of the present system. The central government was further divided into a number of departments and the local administration was led by an appointed governor of each province. His administrative reform and rapid modernisation proved successful both in maintaining the country's independence through the turbulent years of colonial threat and in providing a foundation for a modern system of government.
King Chulalongkorn's successors, King Vajiravudh and King Prajadhipok, had a great interest in parliamentary democracy. However, some intellectuals, educated abroad, called for an immediate democratic transition. On 24 June 1932, they staged a bloodless coup, demanding an establishment of a constitutional monarchy. To avoid bloodshed, King Prajadhipok agreed to the abolition of absolute monarchy for the sake of his people, transferring power to a constitution-based system of government. On 10 December 1932, Thailand's first constitution was signed.

The Thai Check-and-Balance System
The monarch is the head of the armed forces and the upholder of every religion. Every constitution provides that the monarch is sacred and inviolable. His sovereign power emanates from the people, and as head of state, he exercises his legislative power through parliament, executive power through the cabinet, and judicial power through the courts. The monarch is empowered with the right to be consulted, the right to encourage and the right to warn the government when it appears not to administer the state affairs for the good of the people.
Thailand's legislative branch is bicameral. The 500 members of the House of Representatives (MPs) are elected popularly. Four hundred are district MPs, directly elected in each constituency and each representing approximately 150,000 people. The remaining hundred are party-list MPs, who are elected indirectly by the percentage of vote the party receives.
Originally, members of the Senate (the Upper House) were appointed by the King on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers. But, under the 1997 promulgated Constitution, Thailand's senators were directly elected for the first time on 2 March 2000, although the Constitution requires all senatorial candidates to be an independent with no party affiliations. Any Thai citizens over 18 years of age are eligible to vote in the election of both houses.
The executive branch is headed the Prime Minister, who, since the amendment of the 1992 constitution, must be an MP. The cabinet is responsible for the administration of fourteen ministries, and the Office of the Prime Minister. Each ministry is headed by a politically appointed minister, and in most cases, at least one deputy minister. The Prime Minister is assisted by Deputy Prime Ministers as well as a number of ministers holding the portfolio of "Minister to the Prime Minister's Office." The constitution of 1997 limits the number of cabinet members to 36.

The Government
Smaller cabinet committees have been set up to help screen proposals from the various ministries before submission to the full cabinet. This process enables the government to ensure that no incompatible policies are made. The committees may also be assigned by the Prime Minister to thoroughly examine the merits of each project or policy for the cabinet so that the latter will not have to go into such details before deciding on proposals, thus streamlining its work.

The Office of the Prime Minister is a central body, which in itself ranks as a ministry, whose responsibility is largely concerned with formulating national policy. Some of its primary subdivisions are the Budget Bureau, the National Security Council, the Juridical Council, the National Economic and Social Development Board, the Board of Investment, the Civil Service Commission and several other organisations vital to the formulation of national policy.
The fourteen ministries are divided on a functional basis. After the financial crisis, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives have assumed an increasingly important role in the Thai Government. At the same time, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Justice are in charge of maintaining peace and security in the country. In addition, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of University Affairs, the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare and the Ministry of Transport and Communications are concerned with improving infrastructure and human capital in Thailand. Finally, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, equivalent to the US Department of State, is responsible for strengthening relations between Thailand and the outside world.
The head of career civil servants in each ministry is the Permanent Secretary, who has administrative control over all the departments of the ministry, each of which is headed by a director-general, also a career civil servant.

Recent Political Developments
On 6 January 2001, the first general election under the 1997 Constitution--the so-called people's constitution--was held. The Thais, proud of their democracy, participated actively in the election, as represented by the relatively high voter turnout of 69.95 percent. The Thai Rak Thai Party, established in 1999 by Dr. Thaksin Shinawatra, police officer turned business tycoon, received a landslide victory, winning a total of 248 seats. On 9 February 2001, Dr. Thaksin was appointed by His Majesty the King as Thailand's 23rd Prime Minister. He leads a coalition government comprised of his Thai Rak Thai Party, the Chart Thai Party and the New Aspiration Party, making it one of Thailand's strongest democratically-elected government ever.