Thailand's+Government

King Bhumibol Adulyadej

Absolute Monarchy in Thailand was abolished in 1932. Absolute Monarchy is a monarchical form of government where the monarch exercises ultimate governing authority as head of state and head of government, thus wielding political power over the sovereign state and its subject peoples. Since then, Thailand's government is run by the Prime Minister along with various political "parties" and King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

HM Bhumibol Adulyadej was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US. He is now the longest running monarch in the world, reigning for 64 years since he was 19. During his reign he has experience 26 Prime Ministers come and go. He is married to Queen Sirlkit and they have four children. The next in line to the throne is his son Prince **Somdet Phra Boromma-orasathirat Chao Fa Maha Vajiralongkorn Sayammakutratchakuman.** However, King Bhumibol Adulyadej is not involved with politics.

The King is highly respected by the citizens of Thailand, his portrait is widely displayed (eg. Banks, hotels, houses etc.) It's a criminal offence to insult any member of the royal family, it can lead to imprisonment. **“We don’t respect him or love him just because he was born a king, we respect and love him for what he did for the country, for the 60 odd million people in Thailand.”** - quote of a Thai citizen. The national anthem is played daily at 8AM and 6PM on radio and tv stations across the nation, it is also played at the beginning and/or at the end of movie concert.

Thailand also has a Prime Minister. The current Prime Minister is: [|Abhisit Vejjajiva] of the [|Democrat Party], who was appointed on the 17 December 2008. like Australia, the Thai Government is made up of 2 houses of Parliament - The Senate (the Upper House) and the House of Representatives (the Lower House) - the same as Australia.

By Victoria Myers, Cindy Lu & Vivian Yun