Bhumibol Adulyadej
King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) | |
---|---|
King of Thailand | |
Bhumibol Adulyadej | |
Reign | June 9, 1946 - Present |
Coronation | May 5, 1950 |
Predecessor | King Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII) |
Issue | Princess Ubol Ratana HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn HRH Princess Chulabhorn Walailak |
House | Chakri Dynasty |
Father | Mahidol Adulyadej, Prince of Songkla |
Mother | Sangwal, the Princess Mother |
Bhumibol Adulyadej (Thai: ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช; IPA: pʰu:mipʰon adunjadeːd; ) (born December 5, 1927), officially styled "the Great" and also known as Rama IX, is the current King of Thailand. Having reigned since June 9, 1946, King Bhumibol is the world's longest-serving current Head of State and the longest-serving monarch in Thai history.[1]
Although King Bhumibol is a constitutional monarch, he has several times made decisive interventions in Thai politics, including the political crisis of 2005-2006. King Bhumibol is widely credited with facilitating Thailand's transition to democracy in the 1990s, although in earlier periods of his reign he supported military regimes. King Bhumibol also uses his great wealth to fund numerous development projects, particularly in rural areas. He is immensely popular in Thailand, and is revered as a semi-divine figure by many Thais. Critics, mostly outside Thailand, attribute this status to the suppression of criticism of the monarchy.[2]
King Bhumibol was born in the United States and educated primarily in Switzerland. King Bhumibol is also an accomplished musician, artist, and sailor. He is one of the wealthiest people in the world and has received many honors.
Early life
King Bhumibol was born at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the United States, the youngest son of Mahidol Adulyadej, Prince of Songkhla and son of King Chulalongkorn, and Mom Sangwal (later Somdej Phra Sri Nakarindhara Boromaratchachonnani). At the time of his birth, he was known in Thailand as Phra Worawongse Ther Phra Ong Chao Bhumibol Adulyadej (พระวรวงศ์เธอ พระองค์เจ้าภูมิพลอดุลยเดช), reflecting the fact that his mother was a commoner.[3] Had he been born just a few years earlier, before his uncle King Prajadhipok passed a law allowing children of a prince and a commoner to be called Phra Ong Chao (a prince of a lesser status than Chao Fa), he would have been called Mom Chao (the most junior class of the Thai princes), similar to his older brother and sister.[4]
King Bhumibol was brought back to Thailand in 1928, after Prince Mahidol finished his medical study at Harvard University. After primary schooling at the Mater Dei school in Bangkok, he left with the rest of his family in 1933 for Switzerland, where he continued his secondary education at the École Nouvelle de la Suisse romande in Chailly-sur-Lausanne, and received the baccalauréat de lettres (high-school diploma with major in French literature, Latin, and Greek) from the Gymnase classique cantonal of Lausanne. He was studying science at the University of Lausanne when his elder brother, Phra Ong Chao Ananda Mahidol, was crowned King of Thailand. King Ananda Mahidol then elevated his brother and sister to the Chao Fa status, the most senior class of the Thai princes and princesses, in 1935. They came to Thailand briefly in 1938, but returned to Switzerland for further study, where they stayed until 1945.[5]
Succession and marriage
King Bhumibol acceded to the throne following the death of his brother, King Ananda Mahidol, on June 9, 1946. King Ananda Mahidol's death resulted from a gunshot to the head while he was in his bedroom in the Baromphiman Palace in the Grand Palace, under circumstances that to this day remain a mystery.[6] King Bhumibol then returned to Switzerland in order to complete his education, and his uncle, Rangsit, Prince of Chainat, was appointed Prince Regent. King Bhumibol switched over his field of study to law and political science in order to prepare himself more effectively for his new position as ruler.
While finishing his degree in Switzerland, King Bhumibol visited Paris frequently. It was in Paris that he first met a first cousin once removed, Mom Rajawongse Sirikit Kitiyakara, daughter of the Thai ambassador to France.[7] He was 21, and she was 16. King Bhumibol became a regular visitor to the ambassador's residence.
On October 4, 1948, while King Bhumibol was driving a Fiat Topolino on the Geneva-Lausanne highway, he collided into the rear of a braking truck. He lost his right eye in the accident.[8][9] While he was hospitalized in Lausanne, Sirikit visited him frequently. She met King Bhumibol's mother, who asked her to continue her studies nearby so that King Bhumibol could get to know her better. King Bhumibol selected for her a boarding school in Lausanne, Riante Rive. A quiet engagement in Lausanne followed on July 19, 1949, and the couple were married on April 28, 1950, just a week before his coronation.
King Bhumibol and his wife Queen Sirikit have four children:
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- (Formerly HRH) Princess Ubol Ratana, born April 5, 1951 in Lausanne, Switzerland;
- HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, born July 28, 1952;
- HRH Crown Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, born April 2, 1955;
- HRH Princess Chulabhorn Walailak, born July 4, 1957.
One of the King's grandchildren, Bhumi Jensen (also known as Khun Poom), was killed in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. He was the son of Princess Ubol Ratana.
Coronation and titles
King Bhumibol Adulyadej was crowned King of Thailand on May 5, 1950 at the Royal Palace in Bangkok. His ceremonial name, according to the ancient tradition, is:
- พระบาทสมเด็จพระปรมินทรมหาภูมิพลอดุลยเดช มหิตลาธิเบศรามาธิบดี จักรีนฤบดินทร์ สยามินทราธิราช บรมนาถบพิตร (Phrabat Somdej Phra Paramindra Maha Bhumibol Adulyadej Mahitaladhibet Ramadhibodi Chakrinarubodindara Sayamindaradhiraj Boromanatbophit )
On the same day, he made his consort Queen (Somdej Phra Boromarajini). The date of his coronation is celebrated each May 5 in Thailand as Coronation Day, a public holiday. On December 5, 1996, the King celebrated his 50th anniversary as the King of Thailand, becoming the longest reigning monarch in Thai history.[1]
Following the death of his grandmother Queen Savang Vadhana (สว่างวัฒนา, Sawang Watthana Phra Phanvasa Aiyeekajao), King Bhumibol entered a 15-day monkhood (October 22–November 5, 1956), as is customary at the death of elder relatives. During this time, Queen Sirikit was appointed his regent. She was later appointed Queen Regent (Somdej Phra Boromarajininat) in recognition of this.
Although King Bhumibol is often referred to as King Rama IX in English, the name "Rama" is never used in Thai. The name is used to approximate "Ratchakal ti Kao" (รัชกาลที่ 9, literally "the Ninth Reign"). More commonly, Thais refer to him as Nai Luang or Phra Chao Yu Hua (ในหลวง or พระเจ้าอยู่หัว: both mean "the King"). Formally, he would be referred to as Phrabat Somdej Phra Chao Yu Hua (พระบาทสมเด็จพระเจ้าอยู่หัว) or, in legal documents, Phrabat Somdej Phra Paraminthara Maha Bhumibol Adulyadej (พระบาทสมเด็จพระปรมินทรมหาภูมิพลอดุลยเดช), and in English as His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej. He signs his name as ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช ป.ร. (Bhumibol Adulyadej Por Ror; this is the Thai equivalent of Bhumibol Adulyadej R[ex]).
Political conflicts
In August 1957, General Sarit Dhanarajata accused the government of Marshal Pibulsonggram of lèse majesté, starting a public confrontation. On September 16, 1957, Sarit Dhanarajata seized power. Under Sarit's regime, the monarchy was revitalized. King Bhumibol attended public ceremonies, toured the provinces and patronised development projects, and the royal-sponsored Thammayut Nikaya order was revitalized. For the first time since the absolute monarchy was overthrown, a King was conveyed up the Chao Phraya River in a royal barge procession to offer robes at temples.[10][11]
Other disused ceremonies from the classical period of the Chakri dynasty, like the royally-patronized ploughing ceremony (Thai: พิธีพืชมงคล), were also revived.[12] After Sarit's death, his royalist policies were continued by Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn.
In October 1973 after massive protests and the deaths of a large number of pro-democracy demonstrators led by students, King Bhumibol asserted himself politically for the first time by opening the doors of the Chitralada Palace to fleeing students, and holding audiences with their leaders. The King subsequently appointed Thammasat University Rector Sanya Dharmasakti as the new Prime Minister. A succession of civilian governments followed, but in 1976 with the return of Thanom from self-imposed exile led to renewed conflict. Protests against the ex-dictator escalated and came to a head when two newspapers published forged photographs depicting Thammasat students hanging the Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn in effigy.[13] With many people believing that lèse majesté had been committed, military and paramilitary forces attacked the University, leading to a massacre.
The ensuing chaos was used as a pretext for a military coup which resulted in the appointment of Tanin Kraivixien as Prime Minister. He was replaced in another military coup by General Kriangsak Chomanan in October 1977. Kriangsak was succeeded in 1980 by Army Commander in Chief General Prem Tinsulanond, a future Privy Council President. In April 1981 a group of army officers staged another coup. Their position quickly crumbled when General Prem fled to Khorat and was soon joined by the royal family. Units loyal to General Prem recaptured the capital.[14] Manoon Roopkachorn, one of the 1981 coup-makers, was accused in 1985 by the police of masterminding an assassination plot against the Queen Sirikit in 1982. The grounds for the accusations were later found in 1994 to have been fabricated.[15]
Royal projects
King Bhumibol has been involved in many social and economic development projects, although the nature of his involvement has varied by political regime.[16]
The military regime of Plaek Pibulsonggram (1951-1957) suppressed the monarchy; however, during that period King Bhumibol managed to initiate a few projects using his own personal funds. These projects included the Royal Film and Radio Broadcasting Projects.
In the military regime of Sarit Dhanarajata and his successors (1958-1980), King Bhumibol was reportrayed as the "Development King," and appropriated to the economic and political goals of the regime. Royally-initiated projects were implemented under the financial and political support of the government, including projects in rural areas and communities under the influence of the Communist Party of Thailand. King Bhumibol's visits to these projects were heavily promoted by the Sarit government and broadcast on the state-controlled media.
During the civilian governments of General Prem Tinsulanond (1981-1987), the relationship between the Thai state and the monarch was at its closest. Prem, later to become President of King Bhumibol's Privy Council, officially allocated government budgets and manpower to support royal projects. Most activities in this period involved the development of large scale irrigation projects.
During the modern period (post-1988), the structured development of the Royal Projects reached its apex. King Bhumibol's Chaipattana Foundation was established, promoting what he called the self-sufficient economy, an alternative to the export-oriented policies adopted by the period's elected governments.
Awards
King Bhumibol set a world record for receiving the greatest number of honorary university degrees (136) in 1997.[17] Most of his degrees came from Thai universities, for instance, Kasetsart University, which awarded him ten honorary doctorate degrees at once.
The king is a recipient of the Royal Victorian Chain, a personal award of the British Monarch.[18][19]
In May 2006, UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, presented the United Nations' first Human Development Lifetime Achievement Award to the king.[20]
The king, who serves as head of The National Scout Organization of Thailand, was presented the Bronze Wolf award on June 20, 2006, World Organization of the Scout Movement's highest award, for his support and development of Scouting in Thailand by Carl XVI Gustav, King of Sweden and Honorary President of the World Scout Foundation. The presentation took place at Chitralada Palace in Thailand and was witnessed by Chairman of the World Scout Committee Herman Hui.[21]
60th Anniversary celebrations
The 60th Anniversary Celebrations of His Majesty the King's Accession to the Throne, called the Diamond Jubilee, were a series of events marking King Bhumibol's reign. Events included the royal barge procession on the Chao Phraya River, fireworks displays, art exhibitions, pardoning 25,000 prisoners,[22] concerts and dance performances. Tied in with the anniversary, on May 26, 2006 United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan presented the King with the United Nations Development Program's first Human Development Lifetime Achievement Award. National holidays were on June 9 and June 12–13, 2006. On June 9, the King and Queen appeared on the balcony of Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall before hundreds of thousands of people. The official royal barge procession on June 12 was attended by the King and Queen and royal visitors from 26 other countries. On June 13, a state banquet for the royal visitors was held in the new Rama IX Throne Hall at the Grand Palace, the first official function for the hall.
Private life
King Bhumibol is an accomplished jazz musician and composer. He was awarded honorary membership of the Vienna Institute of Music and Arts at the age of 32. He used to play jazz music on air on the Or Sor radio station. In his travels, he has played with such jazz legends as Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, Lionel Hampton and Maynard Ferguson. His songs can often be heard at social gatherings and are performed in concerts. They can be listened to here.
The King is also a painter, photographer, author and translator. His book Phra Mahachanok is based on a traditional Jataka story of Buddhist scripture. The story of Thong Daeng is the story of his dog Thong Daeng. He is also the only monarch to hold a patent, holding one in 1993 for a waste water aerator named "Chai Pattana" and several patents on rainmaking since 1955: the "sandwich" rainmaking patent in 1999 and lately the "supersandwich" patent in 2003.[23][24][25]
The King suffers from lumbar spine stenosis, a narrowing of the canal that contains the spinal cord and nerve roots, which results in back and leg pain and numbness in the legs. He received a microsurgical decompression in July 2006.[26][27]
Sailing
King Bhumibol is an accomplished sailor and sailboat designer.[28] He won a gold medal for sailing in the Fourth Southeast Asian Peninsular (SEAP) Games in 1967, together with HRH Princess Ubol Ratana who he tied for points.[29] This accomplishment is all the more remarkable given King Bhumibol's lack of binocular depth perception. The King has also sailed the Gulf of Thailand from Hua Hin to Toey Harbour in Sattahip, covering 60 nautical miles in a 14-hour journey on the "Vega 1", an OK Class dinghy he built.
Like his father, a former naval engineer, King Bhumibol was an avid boat designer and builder. He produced several small sail-boat designs in the International Enterprise, OK, and Moth Classes. His designs in the Moth class include the “Mod”, “Super Mod”, and “Micro Mod”.
Wealth
The assets of the King, the Thai royal household, and palace properties are managed by the Crown Property Bureau (CPB) and Privy Purse. The CPB was established by the Constitution but is independent of the Thai Government. The CPB owns equity in many companies, including Siam Cement (the largest Thai industrial conglomerate), Siam Commercial Bank (one of the largest banks). One of the largest property owners in Thailand, the CPB rents or leases about 36,000 properties to third parties, including the sites of the Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok, the Suan Lum Night Bazaar, Siam Paragon and Central World Tower.
Biographies
William Stevenson, who had access to the Royal Court and the Royal Family, wrote the biography The Revolutionary King in 2001.[30] An article in Time says the idea for the book was suggested by Bhumibol.[31]
Critics noted that the book displays intimate knowledge about personal aspects of the King. However, the book has been banned in Thailand and the Royal Household Bureau has warned the Thai media about even referring to it in print. The book has been criticized for factual inaccuracies, disrespecting the King (it refers to King Bhumibol by his family nickname "Lek" which means "small" or "little" in Thai), and proposing a controversial theory explaining the death of King Ananda Mahidol. Stevenson said, "The King said from the beginning the book would be dangerous for him and for me."[31]
Succession to the throne
King Bhumibol's only son, Prince Vajiralongkorn, was given the title "Somdej Phra Boroma Orasadhiraj Chao Fah Maha Vajiralongkorn Sayam Makutrajakuman" (Crown Prince of Siam) on December 28, 1972 and made heir apparent to the throne in accordance with the Palace Law on Succession of 1924.
On December 5, 1977, Princess Sirindhorn was given the title, "Sayam Boromrajakumari" (Royal Princess of Siam). Her title is often translated by the English-language press as "Crown Princess", although her official English-language title is simply "Princess".[32]
Although the constitution was later amended to allow the Privy Council to appoint a princess as successor to the throne, this would only occur in the absence of an heir apparent. This amendment is retained in Section 23 of the current 1997 "People's Constitution." This effectively signaled Princess Sirindhorn as second in line to the throne, but did not affect Prince Vajiralongkorn's status as heir apparent.
Recent constitutions of Thailand have made the amendment of the Palace Law of Succession the sole prerogative of the King. According to Gothom Arya, former Election Commissioner, this allows the King, if he so chooses, to appoint his son or any of his daughters to the Throne. [33]
See also
- The Golden Jubilee, the largest faceted diamond in the world, was presented to King Bhumibol Adulyadej on the 50th anniversary of his coronation.
- History of Thailand (1932-1973)
- History of Thailand since 1973
- Public Holidays in Thailand
- Thai royal and noble titles
References
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External links
- The Sixtieth Anniversary Celebrations of His Majesty's Accession to the Throne - official website for the Diamond Jubilee
- A Visionary Monarch - provides a lot of insights on his visions and contributions to the country.
- The Golden Jubilee Network - has many subjects on the King, including his projects, speeches, and his royal new year card.
- Office of the Royal Development Projects Board
- Supreme Artist - see works of art created by the King.
- The King's Birthplace
- Thai monarchy
- Thailand’s Guiding Light
- Thailand: How a 700-Year-Old System of Government Functions - article by David Lamb (LA Times staff writer) on Bhumibol
- Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand - Chapter 2 details the King's prerogatives and obligations, as well as matters relating to succession