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Country : Thailand Official name: Prathet Thai; Ratcha Anachak Thai (Kingdom of Thailand) Head of State: King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) (since 1946) Head of government: Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra (leader of TRT) (since 2001) Ruling party: Coalition government led by Thai Rak Thai (TRT) (Thais Love Thais) party (from Jan 2001). The coalition also includes the Phak Chart Patthana (PCP) (National Development Party), Phak Chart Thai (PCT) (Thai Nation Party) and the Phak Khwam Wang Mai (PKWM) (New Aspiration Party). Area: 514,000 square km Population: 64.34 million (2004) Capital: Bangkok Official language: Thai Currency: Baht (B) = 100 satang Exchange rate: B40.33 per US$ (Nov 2004) GDP per capita: US$2,037 (2003) GDP real growth: 6.80% (2003) Unemployment: 0.80% (2003) Inflation: 1.40% (2003) Oil production: 217,000 bpd (2003) Balance of trade: US$10.87 billion (2003) Foreign debt: US$49.40 billion (2003)

Historical profile

The modern Thai language originates from the Tai-speaking people who migrated south in the first millennium AD from the Chinese province of Yunnan, south of the Yangtze River.

1767 Bangkok became capital of Thailand after the former capital, Ayutthaya, fell to Burmese invaders.

1851–68 King Mongkut ruled what was then called Siam. Mongkut was a Buddhist monk who believed that co-operation with the West was necessary if Thailand was to flourish. He signed a Treaty of Friendship and Commerce with Great Britain. Barriers against British traders were eliminated, allowing trade to expand.

1868–1910 Chulalongkorn, Mongkut's son, succeeded him as ruler of Thailand. Under Chulalongkorn, Thailand's political structure was reformed and slavery was abolished. He built Thailand's first railroads and reformed the education system.

1932 A revolution, led by civil servants and army officers, ended monarchical rule. The new constitution, providing for a National Assembly, was established in the same year.

1939 Siam was renamed Thailand.

1947 The army seized power in a coup, with Field Marshal Songgram taking control. Under Songgram, legislation to make Thailand conform to western ways was re-introduced. Songgram was staunchly anti-Communist and this led to the harassment of the Chinese under his rule.

1957 Songgram was overthrown by Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat.

1958 Martial law was declared, which resulted in the dissolution of all political parties.

1974 A new constitution was introduced, which legalised political parties.

1976 Following the National Administrative Reform Council's (NARC) seizure of power, its leader, Admiral Sa'ngad Chaloryoo, annulled the 1974 constitution and re-introduced martial law. A new constitution was introduced. Thanin Kraivixien became prime minister. Thanin imposed a harsh rule over Thailand. He kept unions under tight control and carried out anti-Communist purges of the civil service and educational institutions.

1977 Thanin was overthrown in October by General Kriangsak Chomanand.

1978 A new constitution was promulgated. This established a bicameral National Assembly.

1991 Power was seized by a military group, calling itself the National Peace Keeping Council (NPKC), in a bloodless coup led by General Suchinda Krapayoon.

1992 General Krapayoon resigned and elections were held. A coalition led by the Pak Prachatipat (PP) (Democratic Party) was victorious.

1995 The Phak Chart Thai (PCT) (Thai Nation Party) won the general election and formed a coalition government.

1997 The constitution was changed to allow the direct election of a prime minister for a four-year term. Chuan Leekpai (PP) was elected prime minister. During office, he worked closely with the IMF to reform the economy, that had been damaged by the Asian financial crisis.

2000 Thailand's first senate election was held. Subsequent rulings against the results by the Election Commission necessitated two further elections.

2001 Elections to the House of Representatives took place. Thai Rak Thai (TRT) (Thais Love Thais) formed a coalition government and Thaksin Shinawatra became prime minister. The Phak Chart Patthana (PCP) (National Development Party), the second-largest opposition party with 28 parliamentary seats, joined the coalition, giving the coalition control of 368 out of the 500 seats in the House of Representatives.

2002 The PCT and the Phak Khwam Wang Mai (PKWM) (New Aspiration Party) joined the ruling coalition. Supachai Panitchpakdi became director general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

2003 Although Thailand was not considered a Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) affected area, visitor arrivals dropped by 20 per cent in April.

2004 The subway, a new mass transit system, opened on 3 July. A Sars outbreak led to a ban on chicken exports to the EU. The west coast of Thailand and some outlying islands, were devasted by the 26 December tsunami.

2005 The ruling TRT party was re-elected on 6 February; Thaksin Shinawatra is the first Thai prime minister to win a second term of office.

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