Thailand is a monarchy. The power of the king is limited; however he’s not merely a figurehead. The king is the official head of the Thai army, has the power of pardon and many other non-symbolic means of authority. Although the executive power remains within the domain of the government, Thailand is not a democracy in any sense of the word. The current situation (2011) is complicated and unclear—the lack of clarity being quite common in Thailand as a whole. It’s a mix of a constitutional monarchy, a dictatorship, and a plutocracy.

The current king of Thailand is the longest ruling king on earth, maybe the longest ruling head of state ever. The royal family has a great respect and reverence of Thai people. What’s particularly astonishing is that the present king, as well as some of his ancestors, have had a genuine positive influence on the country. Imagine a “good king” from children’s fairytales and you’ll not be far from the truth.

The kingdom has its roots in the XIII century. King Sri Indraditya founded the Kingdom of Sukhothai in 1238, which is usually considered the beginning of Thailand. The kingdom was based on two grand concepts derived from India. The first is that the king obtains his power from the military might; the second is that the king should rule in accordance with Buddha’s teachings. These ideas differ significantly from the idea of the previous Khemer empire where the kingly rule was perceived more like a father watching over his children. The Hindu ideas, which were the root of what laid the foundation for the present Thai Kingdom, are similar in some ways to Byzantine or orthodox ideas, as well as the British ideology of the XVI century: the power of the king or tsar is military on one hand and religious on the other. It’s different from the ideas of continental Europe where, generally, the military and religious power were divided from the very beginning, and where secular and military power has been almost completely separated in the last centuries.

Taking into account that the royal Thai family enjoys universal respect, and that the law defends the king and his family from the lightest trace of infamy, it’s almost impossible to give an objective point of view. We have to rely on Thai texts, which always proffer a highly positive image of their king. Nevertheless, it seems apparent that his influence is genuinely positive, and not merely derived from propaganda. On the other hand, the suspicion that an extremely skilful politician and businessman is hidden behind the extremely positive image in mass media, has a well-grounded premise.  We’re talking about an old kingdom, a very old family and tradition, one of few big countries in Asia that was never conquered by Europeans. Thai smiles are a perfect camouflage for intelligence.

The name of the current king is Bhumibol Adulyadej. He was born on December 5^th, 1927, and is known as Rama IX. Having reigned since 1946, he is the world’s longest-serving current head of state and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history. He was born in the United States, in Massachusetts. He attended high school in Switzerland, studying French literature, Greek and Latin, and later science at the university at Lausanne. He became the king in 1946 after the mysterious death of his elder brother. It was never proven to be murder. It’s classic Thai behavior: let’s keep the secrets secret. Although there’s not the slightest proof that the future king was involved in the murder (if it was a murder) it’s quite obvious that he’s the main beneficiary of the accident (if it was an accident). The king returned to Switzerland – once again to study political science. In 1948, in a car collision, he lost sight in his right eye. He married Sirikit in 1950. A few weeks later he became King Rama IX. They had 4 children. One of his grandsons died in the 2004 tsunami.

He’s not only the longest reigning king on earth but also the longest reigning monarch in Thai history. In 1956 Rama IX entered a 15-day monkhood at Wat Bowonniwet. In the early years of his reign he had no real power and was little more than a ceremonial figure under the military-dominated government. In 1957 things changed. The role of the king in the first of a series of coup d’état, which took place under his reign, is unclear. It remains unclear to date. King Rama IX’s figure lurks in the shadows. He was never directly involved in any of the political changes during the last 60 years. In my humble opinion, he’s probably the most skilled Asian politician of the 20^th century. It’s true that the king is an adored person by most of Thais, however one academic recently stated, “It is more and more difficult for them to hold the illusion that the monarchy is universally adored.” My supposition is that the king has been looking for a way to establish democracy and maintain his influence on politics at the same time, but he hasn’t achieved it.

Besides his influence in politics, Bhumibol is a painter, musician, photographer, author and translator. His book Phra Mahachanok is based on a traditional Jataka story of Buddhist scripture. As a musician, he primarily focuses on the saxophone as an instrument, and composes jazz. He was the first Asian composer, who at the age of 32, was awarded honorary membership at the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in Vienna. He is an accomplished sailor and sailboat designer. He won a gold medal for sailing in an Asian race in 1967. He’s also the registered owner of several patents. According to Forbes his wealth is estimated at $35 billion, which places him in first position as the world’s richest royal, and fourth place amongst the world’s richest individuals. Of course Thai officials deny this saying that he doesn’t personally own all the “goods” attributed to his name because it’s actually the property of the entire Thai royal family. Aside from my personal admiration for King Bhumibol, I risk proposing a thesis: that he’s not only the most skilled politician of our times but also the most skilled businessman. His influence diminishes due to his age, but the true history of Bhumibol Adulyadej still remains unwritten.

Lèse majesté is a singular Thai characteristic. What’s the meaning of lèse majesté? It’s the crime of violating “majesty”, an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or a state. The 2007 Constitution of Thailand states: “The King shall be enthroned in a position of revered worship and shall not be violated. No person shall expose the King to any sort of accusation or action.” Thai Criminal Code: “Whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be punished with imprisonment of three to fifteen years.” However it’s not mentioned anywhere what exactly is or can be seen as an insult or defamation. Taking into account that we are talking about one of the most influential politicians of the XX century, and probably one of the richest people in the world, these laws are in strict contradiction with the idea of democracy and equality of men. The Thai king may be a very good person (which he probably is) but the law itself is an anachronism. Let’s imagine that instead of a “good king” we’re confronted with a foolhardy or “stupid king”. This law shows that, in some way, Thailand remains a relic of the past. Maybe that’s why I so love this country and its people. Someone wrote: “The lèse majesté laws are not really designed to protect the institution of the monarchy. In the past the laws have been used to protect governments, to protect military coups. This whole image is created to bolster a conservative elite well beyond the walls of the palace.” Here’s funny related story:  a university professor was investigated under the law of lèse majesté for asking students in an exam if the institution of the monarchy was necessary for Thai society and how it may be reformed to be consistent with a democratic system. Does it mean that you’re not allowed even to ask questions? Well, well, well… And what about internet? The answer is simple: nearly 5,000 websites re blocked in Thailand because of content that insults the Thai royal family.

Let’s look at the roots of the Thai monarchy. Sri Indraditya ruled between 1238 and 1270. His name comes from Sanskrit and means “The Sun King with the Power of Indra”. He was a prince in one of the empires under the Khmer rule, but declared independence, which means he didn’t like to paying taxes to the Khmers, and had a brilliant idea to keep all the money in his own treasury. He’s regarded as the founder of Thailand and its first king. The beginning of Thailand is a financial revolt. It’s very close to my heart, the idea of keeping all the money I earn in my pocket. I think about founding a kingdom independent from any European country. Its borders would be the borders of my house and anyone who would like to enter would need a visa. Why didn’t Khmer emperors react rapidly to such insubordination? Well, they were constructing their temples and didn’t care too much about small problems on the western borders. They were relaxed, loved arts, good cuisine and young naked slaves.  Sri Indraditya used the temporary weakness of his ex bosses and founded a dynasty that survived over 200 years. Not a bad beginning. His first son reigned only 1 year. His second son, Ram Khamhaeng, ruled from 1279 to 1298. He probably created the Thai alphabet although this information can be only a historical artifact created in XIX century to legitimize the Siamese state in the face of colonial threats. The Thai alphabet is a mix of Pali, Sanskrit and so called Grantha script. The last one, characterized by extreme aesthetic beauty (very similar to the Tamil script) consisted of 16 vowels and 34 consonants! Our contemporary Latin derived scripts seem child’s stuff compared to the complexity of old Indian scripts. Sometimes simpler is better. Sometimes it’s not. Typical Thai ending to an article.