HISTORY & POLITICSHISTORY1902
Siam annexes
Yala, Pattani and
Narathiwat from the
former sultanate of
Pattani.1909
Anglo-Siamese Treaty
outlines Siam’s
boundaries.1913
King Vajiravudh
requires all citizens to
adopt surnames.1916
The fi rst Thai
university,
Chulalongkorn
University, is
established.Party was not unifi ed in its vision of a democratic Thailand and before
general elections were held the military-wing of the party seized control
of the government. The leader of the civilian wing of the People’s Party,
Pridi Phanomyong, a French-educated lawyer, was forced into exile in
1933 after introducing a socialist-leaning economic plan that angered the
military generals. King Prajathipok (Rama VII) abdicated in 1935 and re-
tired to Britain. Thailand’s fi rst popular election was held in 1937 for half
of the seats in the People’s Assembly, the newly instated legislative body.
General Phibul Songkhram, one of the leaders of the military faction of
the People’s Party, became prime minister, a position he held from 1938
to 1944 and again from 1948 to 1957.
Phibul’s regime coincided with WWII and was characterised by strong
nationalistic tendencies centering on ‘nation’ and ‘Thai-ness’. He collabo-
rated with the Japanese and allowed them to use Thailand as a staging
ground for its invasion of other Southeast Asian nations. By siding with
the Japanese, the Phibul government was hoping to gain international
leverage and reclaim historical territory lost during France’s expansion of
Indochina. Thailand intended to declare war on the US and Britain dur-
ing WWII. But Seni Pramoj, the Thai ambassador in Washington and a
member of Seri Thai (the Thai Liberation Movement), refused to deliver
the formal declaration of war, thus saving Thailand from bearing the
consequences of defeated-nation status. Phibul was forced to resign in
1944 and was tried for war crimes.
In an eff ort to suppress royalist sentiments, Ananda Mahidol, the
nephew of the abdicated king, was crowned Rama VIII in 1935, though
he was only 10 years old and spent much of his childhood studying
abroad. After returning to Thailand, he was shot dead under mysterious
circumstances in his bedroom in 1946. In the same year, his brother, His
Majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej (pronounced phuumíphon adunyádèttt) was
appointed as the ninth king of the Chakri dynasty, going on to become
the longest-reigning king in Thai history, as well as the world’s longest-
reigning, living monarch.
For a brief period after the war, democracy fl ourished: full elections
for the people’s assembly were held and the 1946 constitution sought to
reduce the role of the military and provide more democratic rights. And
it all lasted until the death of King Ananda, the pretext the military used
to return to power with Phibul at the helm.
Military Dictatorships
In 1957 Phibul’s successor General Sarit Thanarat subjected the country
to a true military dictatorship: abolishing the constitution, dissolving
the parliament and banning all political parties. In the 1950s, the US di-
rectly involved itself in Southeast Asia, attempting to contain communist
Phibul Song-
khram changed
the name of the
country in 1939
from ‘Siam’ to
‘Prathet Thai’
(or ‘Thailand’ in
English); it was
considered an
overt nationalistic
gesture intended
to unite all the
Tai-speaking
people.