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Bhumibol Adulyadej (born 1927) was declared king of Thailand in 1946 and formally crowned four years later. He represented the Chakri Dynasty that has preserved the independence of Thailand for more than 200 years.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej, born on December 5, 1927, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is the only Thai monarch ever to be born abroad. He was the youngest son of Prince Mahidol of Songkhla, and the direct grandson of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), noted for the widespread reforms he introduced into Thailand.

After a short period of primary school in Bangkok, King Bhumibol left with his family for Switzerland, where he attended the Ecole Nouvelle de la Suisse Romande, and then received his Bachelier des Lettres diploma from the Gymnase Classique Cantonal of Lausanne. He entered Lausanne University to study science but, following the mysterious death of his elder brother, King Ananda Mahidol, in June 1946, he was declared king, although his formal coronation did not take place until May 5, 1950. On April 28 of that year he married Queen Sirikit of the Kittiyakara family. He returned to Switzerland to study political science and law, but was called back to Thailand to deal with pressing national needs.

The role of the Thai monarch is pivotal in the society of Thailand. Not only is he the figure that has preserved the Thai state in the face of repeated external threats through the 200 years of the Chakri Dynasty, he is also the symbol of the nation. Even more, he is the focus of the continuity of Thai values and social cohesion in spite of rapid social and economic change. He is the leading supporter of Buddhism in Thai society, and the stability that he provides through his very presence is what allows swings of political activity and military coups to take place without threatening the fabric of Thai society. There is no question that he is widely revered.

Used His Position To Help His Countrymen

Traditionally, the monarch in Thailand has been considered above politics, and for years King Bhumibol played an inconspicuous political role in keeping with that view. He was, however, drawn into current events on occasion to mediate crises or negotiate compromises, and it was a testament to his position and the reverence in which he was held that he succeeded.

Bhumibol was a symbol both of national unity and of modernity. Unlike other monarchs before him, Bhumibol visited every province of his country and suggested infrastructural improvements that might benefit the people. His personal work in rural areas was widely acclaimed because of his success in convincing hill tribes to switch their growing of opium to that of vegetables, fruit, and coffee. As a result, opium cultivation declined by 85%. Village roads, electricity, and irrigation systems were all part of Bhumibol's rural development efforts and modernization of Thai farming.

Describing himself as "an amateur scientist," Bhumibol turned substantial portions of his Bangkok residence, the Chitralada Palace, into living laboratories where projects were undertaken to improve the standard of living. Royal Chitralada Projects included livestock improvement, milk production, hybridization of grains, bee keeping, fish breeding, reforestation, and various food processing techniques. According to the King's wishes, the palace grounds functioned as one great workshop and school for teaching and learning—all for the good of national development.

Because of his broad international training, the king was noted as a devotee of modern music and played the clarinet, as well as composed. He was said to have broad cultural interests, but the myriad ceremonial duties left him little time for personal interests.

King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit had four children, a son and three daughters. The eldest child, Princess Ubon Ratana, was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, on April 5, 1951, and renounced her title when she married an American in 1972. Crown Prince Vijiralongkorn was born in Bangkok on July 28, 1952. He was a graduate of the Australian Royal Military Academy in 1975 and of the Thai Command and General Staff College in 1978. Princess Sirinthon was born on April 2, 1955, and was in a graduate education program at Srinakharinwirot; and Princess Chulaphon, who was born on July 4, 1957, studied chemistry at Mahidol University in Bangkok.

Although Bhumibol preferred his people to politics, he nevertheless commanded enough respect to successfully intervene politically when necessary. In 1981 he was able to thwart an attempted coup against Premier Prem Tinsulanond by simply requesting that those involved cease their efforts. In 1992 the King's public chastisement of the military government's handling of pro-democracy demonstrations again restored order. Bhumibol was universally revered throughout Thailand and contributed greatly to his country's stability. On June 9, 1996, Bhumibol celebrated his 50th anniversary on the throne, becoming Thailand's longest ruling monarch.

The Chakri Dynasty accomplished the difficult task of keeping Thailand independent in the face of colonial threats and created a modern state while preserving its cultural traditions. King Bhumibol continued in that tradition by extending the power of the central government to its peripheral geographical areas and attempting to improve the lot of the rural poor. As the chief supporter and principal patron of Buddhism, the king was in some real sense viewed as the symbolic embodiment of that long tradition.

Further Reading on Bhumibol Adulyadej

There is no English language biography of King Bhumibol, but of course there are constant references to him in all standard books on Thailand. The Public Relations Department of the Royal Thai government has published a pamphlet, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand (no date).

There are many good sites on the Internet to find information about King Bhumibol. Two of the best are His Majesty the King (http://www.nectec.or.th/bureaux/prd/) and the Internet Thailand Homepage (http://www.inet.co.th/).

Source: biography.yourdictionary

Uplus Questions:

1. Where were Bhumibol born?

2. How did he use his position to help his country men?

3. Do you think that Vietnam should have a king without direct political power like Bhumibol or Elizatbeth II? Why?

4. Supposed you are the King of Vietnam, what would you do? Why do you do that?

Korean People's Army (KPA) soldiers watch a military parade marking the 105th anniversary of the birth of the late North Korean leader Kim Il Sung, in Pyongyang, April 15, 2017. 

Photo: Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images

Japan annexed Korea in 1910, and the country spent the next 35 years under Japanese military rule. After Japan was defeated in World War II, U.S. troops landed in the southern part of the peninsula. Communist Soviet forces moved in and occupied the area north of latitude 38 degrees North, famously known as the 38th parallel. 

The next 40 or so years were called the "Cold War," because the U.S. and the Soviet Union fought for influence over the world. They each tried to spread their ways of life to other countries. The U.S. pushed for democratic capitalism and the Soviet Union tried to spread communism.

As communism took firm hold in the northern part of Korea, Kim Il Sung emerged as the first premier of the newly established Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in 1948. Meanwhile, the Republic of Korea was created in the southern part of the country, with Seoul as its capital. The newly formed democracy held elections and adopted a constitution.

Since Korean War, North and South remain worlds apart

Tensions between North Korea and South Korea and their powerful allies erupted into war in 1950, when Soviet-backed North Korean troops invaded the South. Fighting in the Korean War cost at least 2.5 million lives. It ended in July 1953, with the peninsula still divided into two hostile states. Today, a 2.5-mile-wide demilitarized zone separates North Korea from South Korea, roughly following the 38th parallel for 150 miles across the peninsula. This former battleground is now essentially a nature preserve covered by forests.

Single family has governed North Korea

Kim Il Sung was put in power by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in 1948 and remained leader of North Korea until his death in 1994. During his nearly 50-year reign, a powerful cult of personality emerged around him, as North Koreans were forced to worship Kim Il Sung. North Koreans referred to him as the Great Leader, Heavenly Leader and even the “Sun.” He created a new calendar, which used 1912 - the year of Kim Il Sung’s birth - as year one. Every elementary school in the country was equipped with a special training room where young children were indoctrinated in the regime’s teachings.

In 1998, North Korea’s constitution was amended to proclaim Kim Il Sung the Eternal President of the Republic. The anniversaries of both his birth and death are considered national holidays. His son, Kim Jong Il, was the center of a similar cult, and some North Koreans were convinced he was powerful enough to control the weather. Hundreds of memorial statues dedicated to the Kims dot the countryside. Despite a series of devastating famines and widespread poverty, a massive mausoleum was built in North Korea to house the embalmed bodies of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, which are now permanently on display.

Isolated from international community

North Korea has remained isolated from the international community. Its governmental, economic and other operations are veiled in secrecy. Restrictions on travel into or out of the country and a tightly controlled press helped maintain this isolation. North Korea’s foreign policy has been marked by major alliances with China and the Soviet Union, and by enduring hostility to South Korea and the United States. The USSR’s collapse in the early 1990s left China as the country’s most important ally. 

However, current leader Kim Jong Un is young and erratic, and his defiant statements and aggressive actions have steadily weakened North Korea's alliance with China. More recently, North Korea and Russia have developed increasingly close diplomatic and economic ties. In 2017, Russia topped the list of countries friendly toward North Korea for the third straight year, according to North Korea’s government-controlled news agency, KCNA.

North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons is not new

Despite the fact that North Korea is generally a poor and isolated nation, it has been pursuing nuclear power for decades. North Korea began trying to build a functional nuclear weapon during Kim Il Sung’s reign. Its nuclear weapons have been built with Soviet technology left over from the Cold War era. According to intelligence analysts and rocket experts, Russian engineers have helped build the country's nuclear program. They moved to North Korea after the Soviet Union fell apart, looking for work.

By the early 2000s, reports surfaced that North Korea had underground nuclear facilities and was trying to produce highly enriched uranium. Kim Jong Il’s government carried out the country’s first underground nuclear test in 2006, violating an earlier pledge to abide by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Since then, it has detonated four more bombs at the same underground test site in North Korea’s northeast region. Each bomb has been stronger than the last. Experts predict North Korea will likely be able to build a nuclear missile powerful enough to reach the U.S. within a decade.

Tests conducted in tunnels beneath Mount Mantap

The North Korean government has excavated a system of tunnels underneath the mile-high Mount Mantap to conduct the tests. Since late 2013, a pile of debris has built up there and can be seen in satellite images. The pile is now large enough to cover a football field, and is very high. Work on the tunnels recently slowed, which may indicate that workers are readying for another detonation. April 15 would have been Kim Il Sung’s 105th birthday. Experts thought his grandson might have celebrated this important date by carrying out another nuclear test, but he did not. The next day, North Korea tried to test a missile but it failed when the missile landed in the sea.