Bhumibol Adulyadej
His Majesty
Bhumibol Adulyadej, King
Rama IX (royal name Phra Chaoyuhao Bhumibol Adulyadej), the Great (born
December 5,
1927), has been King of
Thailand since
1946. He is the world's longest-serving
head of state, and is the ninth king of the
Chakri Dynasty.
Bhumibol was born in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the
United States. After a brief period of primary schooling in
Bangkok, he left from the age of six with the rest of his family for
Switzerland where he continued his secondary education at the Ecole Nouvelle de la Suisse Romande, in Chailly-sur-Lausanne and received the Bachelieres Lettres diploma from the Gymnase Classique Cantonal of
Lausanne. He received his university education at the
University of Lausanne where he studied law and political science.
Upon the mysterious death (possibly murder) of his older brother
Ananda Mahidol (King Rama VIII), he acceded to the throne on
June 9,
1946. However he first continued his education. His uncle, Prince Rangsit, became Prince Regent, until Bhumibol was officially crowned as King Rama IX on
May 5,
1950. A few days before, on
April 28, he married Mom Rajawongse
Sirikit Kitiyakara, a relative of the royal family. They have four children:
During the early years of his reign Bhumipol had little power and was little more than a ceremonial front for the various authoritatian regimes which had run Thailand since the military coup of
1932. Neverthless he commanded respect among the Thai people, who view the monarchy in a semi-religious light. But in
1973 Bhumipol asserted himself by making it clear he favoured an end to Thanom Kittakachorn's military regime and the establishment of democracy.
Bhumipol has nevertheless not been a constitutional monarch in the western sense, and has frequently played a political role. In
1976 he supported a return to military rule under Kriangsak Chomanand, and later supported the regimes of Prem Tinsulanonda and Chatichai Choonhavan. In
1992, however, he played a key role in the transition to a fully democratic system when he insisted in a televised confrontation that General Suchinda Kraprayoon, head of Thailand's last military regime, resign.
As a result, Bhumibol has become identified, not altogether accurately, as a hero of democracy, adding greatly to his already enormous prestige. In a country where half the population in under 20, few Thais can remember or imagine any other head of state. Bhumipol's image is prominently displayed all over the country, including on every coin and banknote. Thais take any suggestion of disrespect for the King, by Thais or foreigners, very seriously. On
May 5,
1987, he received, by popular national referendum, the honorary title
the Great.
Bhumipol turned 75 in
2002 and is reported to be in poor health. His heir is his only son, Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, who, it is believed, does not occupy the same place in the esteem of the Thai people as his parents, although this subject is never aired in the Thai media.
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