Thailand

J

Civilian Governments

In September 1992 new elections brought a genuinely civilian government to power under prime minister Chuan Leekpai, leader of the Prachatipat (Democrat) Party. Chuan began the process of writing an entirely new and more democratic constitution for Thailand, which was completed in 1997. He also presided over a period of economic boom during which Thailand experienced one of the highest economic growth rates in the world.

Chuan’s government collapsed in 1995 following accusations of corruption. He was succeeded by Banharn Silpa-archa, leader of the Chart Thai (Thai Nation) Party. However, Banharn’s government was soon accused of corruption and other wrongdoing, and he resigned from office in 1996. Chavalit Yongchaiyudh’s New Aspiration Party won September 1996 elections, and Chavalit became the new prime minister.

In mid-1997 Thailand’s economy experienced a significant setback as the Thai currency fell sharply against the U.S. dollar. Many businesses and financial institutions failed, and unemployment rose sharply. The crisis then spread, affecting the economies of other Asian nations. To control and contain the situation, the International Monetary Fund stepped in with a package of loans, in return for which Thailand accepted measures intended to restore its economy to health. By late 1998 the exchange rate had improved.

Thailand’s economic crisis spawned a number of related problems, including urban unemployment, a widening gap between rich and poor, and a decline in social services. The crisis made it difficult for the government to fund adequate educational reform and to care for the country’s considerable population of AIDS and HIV patients. A test of Thailand’s strength in the years to come will be its ability to restore its own self-confidence and surmount these and other challenges.

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In November 1997, meanwhile, Chavalit resigned as prime minister in the face of criticism for his economic policies. Chuan Leekpai was appointed to the post a second time. The January 2001 general elections were the first to be held under the reformist 1997 constitution, which created the Election Commission to monitor elections for vote fraud. The Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) Party of telecommunications tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra won by a landslide on a populist platform, promising economic initiatives to benefit small businesses and farmers. Thai Rak Thai entered a three-party coalition controlling 325 of 500 seats in the House of Representatives, and Thaksin secured a parliamentary mandate to become prime minister. His party then merged with the New Aspiration Party (NAP) and the Seritham (Liberal Democratic) Party to gain 50 additional seats, making it the first governing party in the country’s history to secure a simple majority.

Thai Rak Thai won another landslide victory in the February 2005 parliamentary elections, taking 377 seats. Forming the relatively powerless political opposition in the legislature were the Democrat Party, with 96 seats; the Chart Thai party, with 25 seats; and the Mahachon Party, with 2 seats. Thaksin was appointed to a second term as prime minister and formed Thailand’s first democratically elected single-party government.

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Tsunami Disaster of 2004

On December 26, 2004, the world’s most powerful earthquake in 40 years struck deep under the Indian Ocean. The magnitude 9.0 earthquake was centered off the northwestern coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The earthquake triggered a tsunami (massive waves), which crashed into the coasts of 14 countries from Southeast Asia to the eastern coast of Africa. The western coast of Thailand, about 480 km (about 300 mi) from the quake’s epicenter, was hit by huge wave surges within two hours. Thailand’s many offshore islands, such as the popular tourist resorts of Ko Phuket and Ko Phi Phi Le, were hit during their busy holiday season. In the absence of a tsunami early warning system in the Indian Ocean region, coastal communities received no warning of the impending disaster.

The tsunami was the deadliest in recorded history. The International Committee of the Red Cross reported a death toll of more than 250,000 people as a result of the tsunami and the earthquake. Indonesia, nearest the epicenter of the quake, suffered the largest loss of life. Thailand, Sri Lanka, and India reported high death tolls from the tsunami. Thai officials estimated that about half of the more than 5,000 people known to have died in the country were foreigners, most of them vacationers from Europe.

The tsunami destroyed entire coastal communities in the stricken countries. Millions of survivors were left in desperate need of food, water, shelter, and medical care. A number of countries and international humanitarian organizations responded to the widespread devastation with one of the largest relief efforts in modern history.

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Military Coup

Thailand entered a period of political crisis in early 2006. After the Thaksin family sold a 49.6 percent stake in the telecommunications firm that it controlled, opposition forces renewed charges that Thaksin had used his political position to bolster his fortune. In response to charges of corruption and abuse of power, Thaksin dissolved parliament and called for new elections to win a show of confidence.

Three opposition parties boycotted the April election, which Thaksin’s Thai Rak Thai Party won with more than 50 percent of the vote. The large protest vote combined with the opposition boycott led Thaksin to announce his resignation the day after the election. He handed over power to a deputy prime minister, the April elections were annulled, and new elections were scheduled. Thaksin returned to work as caretaker prime minister in May. In September, while Thaksin was out of the country attending a session of the UN General Assembly in New York City, a military coup was staged. A “Democratic Reform Council” was formed, headed by General Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, leader of the coup. The 1997 constitution was rescinded, and the council appointed retired army chief General Surayud Chulanont as interim prime minister until new elections could be held.

In May 2007 the Constitutional Court ruled that Thai Rak Thai had violated electoral laws in the April 2006 election and ordered that the party be disbanded. Earlier the court had acquitted the Democrat Party, finding that it had not violated election laws. In disbanding Thai Rak Thai, the court also ruled that more than 100 Thai Rak Thai officials, including Thaksin, could not participate in politics for five years. That would prevent them from running in elections that the military government promised to hold by the end of 2007.

The military leaders made the holding of elections contingent on the approval of a new constitution, which they claimed was needed to curb executive power. In August 2007 nearly 58 percent of voters approved a referendum on a new constitution drafted by a military-appointed panel. Among other changes from the 1997 constitution, the new charter imposed a two-term limit on future prime ministers and made it easier to impeach them.

Elections to choose a new civilian government were held as promised in December 2007. The People’s Power Party (PPP), a new party formed by former members of the dissolved Thai Rak Thai, won the largest share of the vote and formed a governing coalition with five smaller parties. PPP leader Samak Sundaravej, a veteran politician and supporter of Thaksin, became the new prime minister of Thailand.

The History section of this article was contributed by David K. Wyatt.

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