Bhumibol Adulyadej


Bhumibol Adulyadej, titled Rama IX, was King of Thailand from 9 June 1946 until his death in 2016. His reign of 70 years and 126 days is the longest of any Thai monarch, the longest on record of any independent Asian sovereign, and the third-longest of any sovereign state.
Born in the United States, Bhumibol spent his early life in Switzerland, growing up in the aftermath of the 1932 Siamese revolution which toppled Thailand's centuries-old absolute monarchy, ruled at the time by his uncle, King Prajadhipok. He ascended to the throne in June 1946 succeeding his brother, King Ananda Mahidol, who had died under mysterious circumstances.
During the course of his rule, Bhumibol presided over Thailand's transformation into a major US ally and regional economic power. Between 1985 and 1994, Thailand was the world's fastest-growing economy according to the World Bank, and in the 1990s was predicted by many international journalists to be the next "Asian Tiger". During this period, the country also saw the emergence of an urban middle class as well as mass political participation in its electoral politics. However, this rapid economic growth came to an end with the 1997 Asian financial crisis which triggered political instability in Thailand during the 2000s and 2010s. Bhumibol's reign was characterized by several periods of gradual democratization punctuated by frequent military coups. The 2014 coup, the last coup during Bhumibol's reign, ended 20 years of civilian government and saw the return of the Thai military's influence within Thai politics.
Forbes estimated Bhumibol's fortune—including property and investments managed by the Crown Property Bureau, a body that is neither private nor government-owned —to be billion in 2010, and he headed the magazine's list of the "world's richest royals" from 2008 to 2013. In 2014, Bhumibol's wealth was again listed as billion.
After a period of deteriorating health which left him hospitalized on several occasions, Bhumibol died in 2016 at Siriraj Hospital. He was highly revered by the people in Thailand—some saw him as close to divine. Notable political activists and Thai citizens who criticized the king or the institution of monarchy were often forced into exile or suffered frequent imprisonments. His cremation was held in 2017 at the royal crematorium at Sanam Luang. His son Vajiralongkorn succeeded him as King Rama X of Thailand.

Early life

Bhumibol was born at Cambridge Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, on 5 December 1927, during the reign of his paternal uncle, King Rama VII. He was the youngest son of Prince Mahidol Adulyadej, the Prince of Songkla, and his commoner wife Mom Sangwan. His father was enrolled in the public health program at Harvard University, which is why Bhumibol was the only hereditary monarch to be born in the US. Bhumibol had an older sister, Princess Galyani Vadhana, and an older brother, Prince Ananda Mahidol.
His US birth certificate read simply "Baby Songkla", as the parents had to consult his uncle, King Prajadhipok, then head of the House of Chakri, for an auspicious name. The king chose a name of Sanskrit origin, Bhumibol Adulyadej, a compound of Bhūmi, meaning "Land"; Bala, meaning "Strength" or "Power"; Atulya, meaning "Incomparable"; and Tej, meaning "Power". Thus, Bhūmibala Atulyateja, or Bhumibol Adulyadej as it is transliterated in Thai, can be literally translated as "Strength of the Land, Incomparable Power".
Bhumibol came to Thailand in 1928, after his father obtained a certificate from Harvard. His father died of kidney failure in September 1929, when Bhumibol was less than two years old. He briefly attended Mater Dei school in Bangkok, but in 1933 his mother took her family to Switzerland, where he continued his education at the École nouvelle de la Suisse romande in Lausanne. In 1934 Bhumibol was given his first camera, which ignited his lifelong enthusiasm for photography. When Bhumibol's childless uncle Prajadhipok abdicated in 1935, his nine-year-old brother Ananda Mahidol became King Rama VIII. However, the family remained in Switzerland and the affairs of the head of state were conducted by a regency council. They returned to Thailand for only two months in 1938. In 1942, Bhumibol became a jazz enthusiast, and started to play the saxophone, a passion that he kept throughout his life. He received the baccalauréat des lettres from the Gymnase Classique Cantonal de Lausanne, and by 1945 had begun studying sciences at the University of Lausanne, when World War II ended and the family was able to return to Thailand.

Accession

Bhumibol ascended the throne following the death by gunshot wound of his brother, King Ananda Mahidol, on 9 June 1946, under circumstances that remain unclear. While an initial government statement stated that Ananda had accidentally shot himself, an investigation committee ruled this was virtually impossible. Three palace aides were eventually convicted of regicide, and were executed by firing squad on 17 February 1955, after their appeals for clemency were rejected by Bhumibol. A third possibility, that Bhumibol accidentally shot his brother while the brothers played with their pistols, was never officially considered.
Bhumibol succeeded his brother, but returned to Switzerland before the end of the 100-day mourning period. Despite his interest in science and technology, he changed his major and enrolled in law and political science to prepare for his duties as head of state. His uncle, Rangsit, Prince of Chainat, was appointed Prince Regent. In Bhumibol's name, Prince Rangsit acknowledged a military coup that overthrew the government of Thamrongnawasawat in November 1947. The regent also signed the 1949 constitution, which returned to the monarchy many of the powers it had lost by the 1932 revolution.
In December 1946, the Siamese government allocated several hundred thousand dollars for the ceremonial cremation of the remains of the late King Ananda, a necessary preliminary to the coronation of Bhumibol who was required by religious custom to light the funeral pyre. Unsettled conditions following the 1947 coup resulted in a postponement, and court astrologers determined that 2 March 1949 was the most auspicious date.
In 1948, the royalist government made a law that increased the power to control the Crown Property by the monarch as the restoration of their political power and assets, which was taken to the state property by the People Party from the Siamese revolution of 1932. Additionally, former Queen Rambhai Barni, Bhumibol's aunt was returned the 6 million baht that the People Party seized.

Marriage and issue

While doing his degree in Switzerland, Bhumibol visited Paris frequently. It was in Paris that he first met Mom Rajawongse Sirikit Kitiyakara, daughter of the Thai ambassador to France and a great-granddaughter of King Chulalongkorn and thus a cousin of Bhumibol. She was then 15 years old and training to be a concert pianist.
On 4 October 1948, while Bhumibol was driving a Fiat Topolino on the Geneva-Lausanne road, he collided with the rear of a braking truck 10 km outside Lausanne. He injured his back, suffered paralysis in half of his face and incurred cuts on his face that cost him the sight of his right eye. Both the royal cremation and coronation had to be postponed once more. While he was hospitalised in Lausanne, Sirikit visited him frequently. She met his mother, who asked her to continue her studies nearby so that Bhumibol could get to know her better. Bhumibol selected for her a boarding school in Lausanne, Riante Rive. A quiet engagement in Lausanne followed on 19 July 1949, and they were married on 28 April 1950, just a week before his coronation. Their wedding was described by The New York Times as "the shortest, simplest royal wedding ever held in the land of gilded elephants and white umbrellas". The ceremony was performed by Bhumibol's ageing grandmother, Savang Vadhana.
Bhumibol and Sirikit had four children:
After presiding over the long-delayed, ceremonial cremation of his brother Ananda Mahidol, Bhumibol was crowned King of Thailand on 5 May 1950 in the Phaisan Thaksin Throne Hall in the Grand Palace in Bangkok. It was the first coronation ceremony of a Thai sovereign to rule under the system of constitutional monarchy. During the ceremony, he pledged that he would "reign with righteousness for the benefit and happiness of the Siamese people". Notable elements associated with the coronation included the beneath the Great White Umbrella of State and royal regalia and utensils.
In 1950, on Coronation Day, Bhumibol's consort was made queen. The date of his coronation is celebrated each 5 May in Thailand as Coronation Day, a public holiday.
The royal couple spent their honeymoon at Hua Hin before they returned to Switzerland, where the king completed his university studies. They returned to Thailand in 1951.
Following the death of his grandmother Queen Savang Vadhana, Bhumibol entered a 15-day monkhood at Wat Bowonniwet, as is customary for Buddhist males on the death of elder relatives. He was ordained by the Supreme Patriarch on 22 October 1956 at the Royal Chapel of the Emerald Buddha in the Grand Palace. At this time, Sirikit was appointed his regent. She was later appointed Queen Regent in recognition of this.
Although Bhumibol was sometimes referred to as King Rama IX in English, Thais referred to him as Nai Luang or Phra Chao Yu Hua, which translated to "the King" and "Lord Upon our Heads", respectively. He was also called Chao Chiwit. Formally, he was referred to as Phrabat Somdet Phra Chao Yu Hua or, in legal documents, Phrabat Somdet Phra Paraminthara Maha Bhumibol Adulyadej, and in English as "His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej". He signed his name as ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช ป.ร. ".