The new king, Phra Buddha Yot Fa Chulalok, or Rama I, was also a great general. In addition, he was an accom-plished statesman, a lawmaker, a poet, and a devout Buddhist. His reign has been called a ΓÇ£reconstructionΓÇ¥ of the Thai state and Thai culture, using Ayutthaya as the model but at the same time not slavishly imitating all aspects of the old capital. He was the ruler who established Bangkok as the capital and was also the founder of the Royal House of Chakri, of which the present monarch King Bhumibol Adulyadej is the ninth king. The significance of his reign in Thai history is therefore manifold.
King Rama I was intent on the firm reestablishment of the Buddhist monkhood, allying church and state and purifying the doctrine. The Tripitaka, or Buddhist scriptures, were re-edited in a definitive text by a grand council of learned men convened by the King in 1788-9. This concern with codification and textual accuracy was also apparent in the collating and editing of laws both old and new, which resulted in one of the major achievements of his reign: The ΓÇ£Three Seals CodeΓÇ¥ or Kotmai tra samduang. This, too, was the work of a panel of experts assembled by the king.
King Rama I consistently explained all his reforms and actions in a rational way. This aspect of his reign has been interpreted as a major change in the intellectual outlook of the Thai elite, or a re-orientation of the Thai world view.
The organization of Thai society during the early Bangkok period was not fundamentally different from that of the late Ayutthaya period. Emphasis was still placed on manpower and on an extensive system of political and social privilege. The officialsΓÇÖ main concern was still to provide the crown with corvee labour and to provide patronage to the commoners.
The Burmese remained a threat to the Thai kingdom during this reign, launching several attacks on Thai territory. King Rama I was ably assisted by his brother and other generals in defeating the Burmese in 1785 and 1786. King Rama I not only drove out these invading armies but also launched a bold counter-attack in retaliation, invading Tavoy in Lower Burma. During this reign, Chiang Mai was added to the Thai kingdom, and the Malay states of Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan, and Trengganu all sent tribute to the Thai king. The recovery of the Thai stateΓÇÖs place and prestige in the region was one of King Rama IΓÇÖs major achievements.
His most long-lasting creation was perhaps the city of Bangkok (Rattanakosin). Before 1782, it was only a small trading community, but the first Chakri King transformed it into a thriving, cosmopolitan city based on AyutthayaΓÇÖs example. He had a canal dug to make it an island-city, and it contained Mon, Lao, Chinese, and Thai communities similar to Ayutthaya. Several Ayutthaya-style monasteries were also built in and around the city.
King Rama I endeavoured to model his new palace closely on the Royal Palace at Ayutthaya and in doing so helped create one of BangkokΓÇÖs enduring glories, consisting of the Grand Palace and its resplendent royal chapel, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. He also completely rebuilt an old monastery, Wat Photharam,and renamed it Wat Phra Chetuphon, which became not only an exemplar of classical Thai architecture but also a famous place of learning.
The cosmopolitan outlook of the Thais during King Rama IΓÇÖs reign was also reflected in the arts of the period. Both painting and literature during the early Bangkok period reflected a keen awareness of other cultures, though traditional Thai forms and conventions were adhered to, especially in art. The king and his court poets composed new versions of the Ramakien (the Thai version of the Indian Ramayana epic) and the Inao (based on the Javanese Panji story).
King Rama II and His Sons
King Rama IΓÇÖs son Phra Buddha Loet La Naphalai, or Rama II, acceded to the throne peacefully and was fortunate to have inherited the throne during a time of stability. His reign was especially notable for the heights attained by Thai poetry, particularly in the works of the king himself and of Sunthorn Phu, one of the court poets. King Rama II had other artistic talents as well; he had a hand in the carving of the door-panels on Wat SuthatΓÇÖs viharn, considered to be the supreme masterpiece of Thai woodcarving.
At the end of King Rama IIΓÇÖs reign, two princes were in contention for the succession. Prince Chetsadabodin was lesser in rank than Prince Mongkut, but he was older, had greater experience of government, and had a wider power base. In a celebrated example of Thai crisis power management, Prince Mongkut (who had just entered the monkhood) remained a priest for the whole of his brotherΓÇÖs reign (1824-1851). The avoidance of an open struggle worked out well for both the country and for the Royal House. While King Nang Klao Chao Yuhua, or Rama III, ruled firmly and with wisdom, his half-brother was accumulating experience which was to prove invaluable to him during his years as king. The priest-prince Mongkut was able to travel extensively to see for himself how ordinary Thais lived and to lay the foundations for a reform of the Buddhist clergy. In the late 1830s he set up what was to become the Thammayut sect (dhammayutikanikaya), an order of monks which became stronger under royal patronage. To this day the royal family of Thailand remains closely associated with the Thammayut order, though other orders also remain strong within the faith.
The Growing Challenge of the West
The major characteristic of Thai history during the 19th and 20th centuries may be summed up by the phrase ΓÇ£the challenge of the West.ΓÇ¥ The reigns of King Rama II and his two sons, Rama III and Rama IV, marked the first stage in the Thai kingdomΓÇÖs dealings with the West during the Age of Imperialism.
In the Ayutthaya period the Thai had more often than not chosen just how they wanted to deal with foreign countries, European states included. By the 19th century this freedom of choice had become more and more constricted. The West had undergone a momentous change during the Industrial Revolution, and western technology and economy had begun to outstrip those of Asian and African nations. This fact was not readily apparent to the Asians of the early 19th century, but it became alarmingly obvious as the century wore on and several once-proud kingdoms fell under the sway of Western powers. Once the British had gained victory in Europe in the Napoleonic Wars, they resumed their quest for additional commerce and territory in Asia.
King Rama III may have been conservative in outlook, striving hard to uphold Buddhism (he built or repaired many monasteries) and refusing to acknowledge the claims of Western powers to increased shares in the Thai trade, but he was above all a shrewd ruler. He was justifiably wary of Western ambitions in Southeast Asia, but he was tolerant enough to come to an agreement with the British emissary Burney, as well as to allow Christian missionaries to work in the kingdom.
One of the men most intellec-tually stimulated by the Western missionaries was Prince Mongkut. The priest-prince had an inquiring mind, a philosophical nature, and a voracious appetite for new knowledge. He learnt Latin from the French Catholic Bishop Jean-Baptiste Pallegoix and English from the American Protestant missionary Jesse Caswell. His intellectual interests were wide-ranging: not only did he study the Buddhist Pali scriptures but also Western astronomy, mathematics, science, geography, and culture. His wide knowledge of the West helped him to deal with Britain, France, and other powers when he reigned as king of Siam (1851-1868).
King Mongkut was the first Chakri king to embark seriously on reform based on Western models. This did not mean wholesale structural change, since he did not wish to undermine his own status as a traditional and absolute ruler. He concentrated instead on the technological and organizational aspects of reform. His reign saw road building, canal digging, ship building, a reorganization of the Thai army, and administration, and the minting of money to meet the demands of a growing money economy. He employed Western experts and advisers at the court and in the administration. One of his employees was the English teacher Anna Leonowens, whose books on her time in Siam have resulted in several misunderstandings concerning King MongkutΓÇÖs character and reign. Far from being the ΓÇ£noble savageΓÇ¥ figure portrayed in the musical ΓÇ£The King and I,ΓÇ¥ King Mongkut was a scholarly, conscientious, and humane monarch who ruled at a difficult time in Thai history.
The Reign and Reforms of
King Chulalongkorn (1868-1910)
The reforms and foreign policy of King Mongkut were carried on by his son and successor, King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), who came to the throne a frail youth of 16 and died one of SiamΓÇÖ s most loved and revered kings after a remarkable reign of 42 years. Indeed, modern Thailand may be said to be a product of the comprehensive and progressive reforms of his reign, for these touched almost every aspect of Thai life.
King Chulalongkorn faced the Western world with a positive attitude, eager to learn about Western ideas and inventions, working towards Western-style ΓÇ£progressΓÇ¥ while at the same time resisting Western rule. He was the first Thai king to travel abroad; he went to Dutch and British colonial territories in Java, Malaya, Burma, and India, and also made two extended trips to Europe toward the end of his reign. He did not just travel as an observer or tourist but worked hard during his trips to further Thai interests. For instance, during one of his European sojourns he obtained support from Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and the German Kaiser Wilhelm II to put Siam in a stronger international position, no longer dominated by Britain and France.
The King also travelled within his own country. He was passionately interested in his subjectsΓÇÖ welfare and was intent on the monarchyΓÇÖs assuming a more visible role in society. His progressive outlook led him, in what was his first official act, to forbid prostration in the royal presence, considering that the practice was humiliating to his subjects and apt to engender arrogance in the ruler. Influenced by Buddhist morality and Western examples, he gradually abolished both the corvee system and the institution of slavery, a momentous and positive change for Thai society.
During his reign SiamΓÇÖs communications system was revolutionized. Post and telegraph services were introduced and a railway network was built. Such advances enabled the central government to improve its control over outlying provinces. One of the central issues of King ChulalongkornΓÇÖs reign was the imposition of central authority over the more remote parts of the kingdom. He initiated extensive reforms of the administration, both in Bangkok and in the provinces. Western-style ministries were set up, replacing older, traditional administrative bodies. Old units which were remodelled according to the Western pattern included those of the Interior, War, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Agriculture, the Palace, and Local Administration. Completely new ministries were also created, such as the ministries of Justice, Public Instruction, and Public Works. This new ministerial system of government was inaugurated in 1892.
King ChulalongkornΓÇÖs contribution to education was also to prove of great significance to modern Thailand. During this reign ΓÇ£public instructionΓÇ¥ became more secular than ever before in Thai history. Secular schools were established in the 1880s aimed at producing educated men necessary for the smooth functioning of a centralized administration. One of the pressing issues of the reign was the necessity of proving to the Western colonial powers that Siam had become a ΓÇ£modernΓÇ¥ and ΓÇ£progressiveΓÇ¥ country. The problem, however, was that the King and his advisers had very little time in which to do so.
The King was eager to send Thai students abroad for their education, partly because the country needed skills and knowledge from the West and partly because the Thai students abroad could come into contact with EuropeΓÇÖs elite. Moreover, the King also hired several Westerners to act as advisers to the Thai government in various fields, among them the Belgian Rolin-Jacquemyns (a ΓÇ£General AdviserΓÇ¥ whose special knowledge was in jurisprudence) and the British financial advisers H. Rivett- Carnac and W.J.F. Williamson. Such policies were deemed to be essential for SiamΓÇÖs survival as a sovereign state and its progress to modernity.
Thai foreign policy during King ChulalongkornΓÇÖs reign was a series of delicate balancing acts, playing off one Western power against another, and trying to maintain both sovereignty and territorial integrity. SiamΓÇÖs heartland had to be preserved at all costs, even to the extent of conceding to Britain and France some peripheral territories whenever the pressure became too intense.
Even SiamΓÇÖs subtle and supple foreign policy was not always enough to offset the appetite for territory. In 1893, Siam ceded all territories on the east bank of the Mekong River to France, then building up its Indochinese empire. In 1904, it had to cede all territories on the west bank of the Mekong to France.
The Thai government wanted to put an end to the clauses concerning extra-territoriality, land tax, and trade duties in the treaties concluded with Western countries during King MongkutΓÇÖs reign. In return for the mitigation of treaty disadvantages, the Thai had to cede several territories. For example, in 1907 the Khmer provinces of Siem Reap, Battambang, and Sisophon were ceded to France in return for French withdrawal from the eastern Thai province of Chanthaburi and the abandonment of French extraterritorial claims over their ΓÇ£protected personsΓÇ¥ (mostly Asians and therefore not properly French at all). In 1909, Siam gave up its claims to the Malay states of Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan, and Trengganu, all of which became British protectorates.
This cession of territory was again agreed to in return for a lessening of certain treaty disadvantages. It was fortunate indeed for the Thai kingdom that Britain and France agreed in 1896 to keep Siam as a ΓÇ£buffer stateΓÇ¥ between British and French territorial possessions in Southeast Asia. King Chulalongkorn kept Siam an independent sovereign state in spite of all these crises, and all the while he strove to uphold Thai cultural, artistic, and religious values. When he died in 1910, a new Siam had come into being.
The Thai kingdom was now a more centralized bureaucratic state partly modelled on Western examples. It was also a society without slaves, with a ruling class that was partly Westernized in outlook and much more aware of what was going on in Europe and America. Technologically, too, there had been many advances, among them railroads and trams, postage stamps and telegraph lines.
With so many achievements to his credit, and a charisma that was enhanced by his longevity, it was no wonder that the Thai people genuinely grieved his passing. 23 October, the date of his death, is still a national holiday, honouring one of SiamΓÇÖs greatest and most beloved kings.
Nationalism and Constitution
(1910-1932)
King ChulalongkornΓÇÖs son and successor Vajiravudh (Rama VI) was the first Thai king to have been educated abroad, in his case at Harrow School and Oxford University in England. King Vajiravudh (r.1910-1925) was noted for his accomplishments as a poet, dramatist (in both English and Thai), and polemicist. He was a convinced nationalist and was the first person to try to instil a Western-style nationalistic fervour in his subjects. Like his father he was determined to modernize Siam while still upholding traditional Thai values and royal authority.
King Vajiravudh chose to work on issues and problems which appealed to his personal interests, largely in the literary, educational, and ideological fields. He was also keenly interested in military affairs and formed his own paramilitary organization, the ΓÇ£Wild Tiger Corps,ΓÇ¥ to inculcate nationalism and promote national unity. When the First World War broke out, he was determined to join the Allies in their struggle against Germany. His decision in 1917 to send Thai troops to fight in Europe was a felicitous piece of timing; although the Thai expeditionary force did not see much action, SiamΓÇÖs participation on the Allied side earned the country and the king much praise and recognition from the international community.
The major achievements of King Vajiravudh, however, lay in the area of education and related legislation. In 1913, he compelled his subjects by law to use surnames and thus be no different from the Western nations. As a measure of his personal commitment to this idea, he himself coined hundreds of family names.
In 1921, the King issued a law on compulsory primary education, which was the first step in SiamΓÇÖs path toward universal primary education. Two of present-day ThailandΓÇÖs most prestigious educational establishments were founded by him: Chulalongkorn University, SiamΓÇÖs first Western-style university, named in honour of King Chulalong-korn, and Vajiravudh College, a boarding school for boys modelled upon the English public school.
The death of King Vajiravudh in 1925 brought his younger brother, Prince Prajadhipok, to the throne since King Vajiravudh had no male heir. The new King (Rama VII) began his reign at an unenviable juncture of both Thai and world history. The global economic depression of the late 1920s and early 1930s forced the government to economize, taking measures which led to some discontent. Internally, the dilemma about whether to institute wide-ranging political reforms became more acute during the reign.
King Prajadhipok was a liberal and a conscientious man. A soldier by training, he nevertheless worked hard in addressing himself to SiamΓÇÖs problems, and his comments on various matters of government and administration in the state papers of his reign reveal him to be an admirable ruler in many ways. He was well aware of the desirability of establishing Siam in the international political community as a country with a ΓÇ£modernΓÇ¥ and ΓÇ£liberalΓÇ¥ constitutional system of government. The King, however, was still in the process of trying to convince the more conservative of his relatives in the Supreme State Council about the need to promulgate a constitution when matters were taken out of his hands by the bloodless ΓÇ£revolutionΓÇ¥, or coup dΓÇÖetat, of 24 June 1932.
The 1932 coup dΓÇÖetat put an end to absolute monarchy in Siam. Prior to this event, there had been increased political awareness among middle-ranking military officers and civilian officials who were to become major figures in the group that led the coup, who called themselves the PeopleΓÇÖs Party. Many of these men had been educated abroad, principally in France and Britain. There had also been a degree of discontent within the military and civilian bureaucracy resulting from the royal government retrenchment programme, which in turn had been dictated by the worldwide economic depression. Government expenditures had been cut by one-third in 1932, salaries were also cut, and many government officials lost their jobs.
All these facts were instrumental in motivating the coup group of 1932 to initiate a new system of government. A formal constitution was promulgated and a National Assembly set up. Siam thus became a constitutional monarchy without any bloodshed or wholesale changes in its society and economy.
After 1932: The Ascendancy of the Military
The countryΓÇÖs government alternated between democratically-elected and differing degrees of military rule. It was a period of transition, of trying to balance new political ideals and expectations with the pragmatism of power politics.
King Prajadhipok abdicated in March 1935, feeling that he could no longer cooperate with the PeopleΓÇÖs Party in a constructive way. The new king was Ananda Mahidol, the ten-year-old son of Prince Mahidol of Songkla, one of King ChulalongkornΓÇÖs sons. The extreme youth of the new king, and his absence from the country while pursuing his studies in Switzerland, left the PeopleΓÇÖs Party with a relatively free hand in shaping the destiny of the kingdom.
During the 1940s leading figures of the PeopleΓÇÖs Party dominated Thai politics. Two men in particular stood out: Dr. Pridi Banomyong and a young officer Luang Pibulsongkram (later Field Marshal P. Pibulsongkram). While the country experimented with various forms and degrees of democracy and several constitutions were promulgated, the two groups which held power were alternately the military and the civilian bureaucratic elite. Dr. Pridi Banomyong tried to lay down the foundations of a socialistic society with his economic plan of 1933, but this plan was considered to be too radical. It proposed to nationalize all land and labour resources and to have most people working for the state as government employees. These ideas were unacceptable to the more conservative elements, both within the PeopleΓÇÖs Party and also in the elite as a whole, which did not desire any sweeping structural change in Thai society. Dr. Pridi was forced into temporary exile, and the National Assembly was prorogued.
After 1933, Siam entered a long period of military ascendancy. The army that had been so carefully and systematically built up during the reign of King Chulalongkorn became a formidable institution. During King VijiravudhΓÇÖs reign, in 1912, some officers had tried unsuccessfully to stage a coup dΓÇÖetat, wanting to see Siam progress into modernity in terms of politics and government. In 1932, some senior and middle-ranking military officers had formed part of the PeopleΓÇÖs Party.
The most dynamic of these military officers was undoubtedly Luang Pibulsongkram, who came into prominence after he had played a critical role in the defeat of a royalist counterrevolution in 1933. The Thai army was to be Field Marshal P. PibulsongkramΓÇÖs power base during the next 25 years. The military had one vital advantage over the other groups: an organizational strength born of being a strict and tightly-knit hierarchy. Once the military decided to involve itself in politics, it was inevitable that it would prove to be the dominant force.
The first governments of the post-1932 era tried to keep a balance between civilian and military elements so as not to alienate any important group. For instance, in 1934 the exiled Dr. Pridi Banomyong was brought back into the administration as Interior Minister, largely because the Prime Minister, General Phraya Phahol Pholphayuhasena, was eager to preserve civilian support for his government. Phraya Phahol also used Luang Pibulsongkram as a minister. During the period 1934-38, both Dr. Pridi and Luang Pibulsongkram strove hard to consolidate their political power, the former through the Thai intelligentsia and the latter through influence over the army. When Phraya Phahol resigned in 1938 Luang Pibulsongkram succeeded him as Prime Minister, signifying that the military had gained a decisive advantage in the struggle for dominance in Thai politics.
In conformity with his view that a strongly enforced discipline backed by military strength was vital for ThailandΓÇÖs development, he aimed at increasing nationalism to maximum intensity.
In 1941, the Pibulsongkram Government acceded to demands of overwhelming Japanese forces to cross over to neighbouring Burma. The policy saved the country from the devastation that would have undoubtedly followed had the government decided to continue with the initial resistance made by airmen in the southern shores of Thailand. Dr. Pridi Banomyong, and M.R. Seni Pramoj, (both former Prime Ministers), however, were sympathetic to the Allies and worked with ThailandΓÇÖs underground resistance movement at home and abroad.
Towards the end of World War II, Field Marshal Pibulsongkram and his government resigned and Mr. Khuang Abhaiwongse, founder of the oldest political party, the Democrat Party, became the Prime Minister in 1944. In the following year King Anada Mahidol (Rama VIII) returned from Switzerland and Dr. Pridi became Prime Minister in 1946. The unexpected death of the young King generated popular dissatisfaction and once again the tide turned. Dr. Pridi Banomyong was forced into exile and Field Marshal Pibulsongkram again became Prime Minister.
In 1946, Thailand joined the United Nations, recognizing the future importance of the U.N. in securing world peace. In 1950, shortly after the outbreak of war in Korea, Thailand announced its support of the United Nations interven-tion and sent a force of 2,000 soldiers, smaller naval and air force contingents and several tons of rice.
Economically, the establishment of the PeopleΓÇÖs Republic of China discouraged ThailandΓÇÖs Chinese from sending monthly remittances, as they had been accustomed to doing, which in turn stimulated local growth and profits. As the world demand for food products rose, the countryside began diversifying away from rice monoculture; and in response to local demand, enterprising producers founded light manufacturing industries on city and town outskirts.
In 1957 the premiership changed from Field Marshal Pibulsongkram to Mr. Pote Sarasin, a very capable and progressive civilian leader, who had been the first Secretary - General of the South East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). Mr. Pote resigned as Prime Minister shortly thereafter, and was succeeded by a former professor at the Chulachomklao Military Academy, General Thanom Kittikachorn, in 1958. Like Mr. Pote, General Thanom stayed in office for less than a year before he resigned in favour of General Sarit Thanarat whose almost five-year term in office started in February 1959.
Field Marshal Sarit ThanaratΓÇÖs government placed emphasis on national security and law and order, as well as economic development. His government decreed opium as an illicit drug and embarked on stringent suppression of drug trafficking and all other crimes. In the area of economic development, the government set up the National Economic and Social Development Board and initiated five-year National Economic and Social Development Plans. Infrastructure Development ΓÇö the building of highways, roads, bridges and dams-started during this period with particular emphasis on the northeast, the poorest region in the country
Following the illness and death of Field Marshal Sarit in December 1963, Field Marshal Thanom Kittika-chorn was appointed Prime Minister for the second time. The next ten years saw continuation of infrastructure building. Educational development and expansion was planned and implemented with the establishment of at least ten public and private universities in Bangkok and in the various regions. Worthy of note was the establishment of Ramkhamhaeng University, the first and largest ΓÇ£open universityΓÇ¥ in Southeast Asia, with an enrollment of over 400,000 students. The government not only concentrated on economic and social development, but also promoted stability in Southeast Asia. Indeed, it was primarily through the initiative of Thailand that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established in 1967 in accordance with the Bangkok Declaration.
Dissatisfaction with military dominated government during the last few years however, resulted in political demonstrations in 1973, and in October, in response to unprecedented political confusion caused by student uprisings, Field Marshal Thanom relinquished the premiership in favour of Professor Sanya Dharmasakti, former rector of Thammasat University.
During the period 1973-76, the Thai political arena witnessed successive governments headed by Professor Sanya, M.R. Seni Pramoj, M.R. Kukrit Pramoj, again M.R. Seni Pramoj, and finally, after a violent uprising in 1976, Mr. Thanin Kraivixian, each of who strove to develop the country in his own way.
In 1977, General Kriengsak Chamanand became Prime Minister. His government maintained political stability, which successfully encouraged foreigners to invest in Thailand. It was also during this government that Thailand announced an ΓÇ£Open-doorΓÇ¥ policy, allowing terrified refugees from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam temporary asylum in the country before going on to settle in the third countries, following the fall of governments to Communist forces in those countries.
General Prem Tinsulanonda became Prime Minister in 1980 and headed four governments until 1988. During these years, conflicts resulting from insurgency were greatly reduced, and many groups of insurgents emerged from their jungle hideouts to peacefully surrender to government officials and were given opportunities to become law abiding citizens. Moreover, national stability and successful foreign policies brought about much socio-political and economic progress.
In 1982, Thailand celebrated the bicentennial anniversary of Bangkok. General Prem was succeeded by a military-diplomat turned politician, Major General Chatichai Choonhavan. An elected Prime Minister, General Chatchai took office in August 1988. He continued successful economic policies which were supported by international trade policies. He strongly encouraged foreign trade particularly with those of neighbouring countries. Indeed, General Chatchai is wellknown for his policy of ΓÇ£Turning the battlefield into a market placeΓÇ¥, encouraging active trade with Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, as well as with other countries in Asia and Latin America. The Chatchai government sought to curtail the influence of the military in the political arena, which in turn alienated some of the military leaders.
In February 1991 a military coup led by General Sunthorn Kongsompong ousted the elected Chatchai cabinet. The coup leaders appointed Mr. Anand Panyarachun, a diplomat and wellknown businessman, Prime Minister, leading an interim government until General ChatichaiΓÇÖs term ended in accordance with the constitution. A general election then took place in March which resulted in the appointment of General Suchinda Kraprayoon as Prime Minister. His administration lasted only a short time. Following demonstrations and confrontations in May 1992, General Suchinda resigned and for a second time, Mr. Anand Panyarachun was appointed interim Prime Minister. He introduced several liberalization programmes and legislation for the enhancement of economic growth, and the general advancement of the country.
Democratic Government
Since then, there have been a series of democratic elections, involving various political parties. Prime Ministers have included Mr. Chuan Leekpai, leader of the Democrat Party (1992-95), Mr. Banharn Silpa-Archa of the Chart Thai Party (1995-96), and General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh of the New Aspiration Party (1996-97). This 5-year period marked the strengthening of the democratic process and system of government. It also ushered in one of the most severe economic recessions Thailand has had to face.
Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai assumed office for the second time in the midst of the financial crisis in November 1997. Under his leadership, the Government undertook a string of measures not only to alleviate the social impact of the crisis, but also to improve the countryΓÇÖs legislative and regulatory framework to those of international standards, laying the foundations for the countryΓÇÖs sustained economic recovery and long-term growth. Underscoring the importance of social justice and the rule of law, Mr. Chuan Leekpai also worked hard to promote the decentralisation of growth and authority to outlying areas as well as the principles of good governance and transparency, both in government and private circles.
After the general elections in January 2001, the first ever elections of members of the House of Representatives held under the 1997 Constitution, The Thai Rak Thai Party won overwhelming majority of the seats in Parliament and its leader Pol. Lt. Col. Thaksin Shinawatra became Prime Minister. His government has implemented a dual track policy on economic development. It has carried out various measures to revitalize the national economy. These measures include granting 3-year-grace period for both interest and principle payments for individual small farmers, establishing the Village Revolving Fund, PeopleΓÇÖs Bank, the Bank for SMEs and a National Asset Management Corporation, initiating One Village One Product scheme and providing public health care for only 30 baht per person. It has also encouraged trade and investment cooperation with foreign countries especially those in Asia by initiating various ideas such as holding the Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) to enhance economic cooperation among Asian countries, proposing account trade system and free trade arrangements with several countries to increase its bilateral trade with other countries and initiating a trilateral arrangement on rubber cooperation (Thailand-Malaysia-Indonesia) and Rice Pool Cooperation (China, India, Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam) to prop up the price of the main crops of participating countries.
The Thaksin government has also carried through bureaucratic reforms to improve the efficiency of public services.
