Bhumibol Adulyadej

"Adulyadej" and "Rama IX" redirect here. For his father, see Mahidol Adulyadej. For the ruler of Cochin, see Rama Varma IX.

  • Bhumibol Adulyadej
  • ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช
King Rama IX
King Bhumibol in 1960
King of Thailand
Reign9 June 1946 – 13 October 2016
Coronation5 May 1950
PredecessorAnanda Mahidol (Rama VIII)
SuccessorVajiralongkorn (Rama X)
Born(1927-12-05)5 December 1927
Cambridge, Massachusetts, US
Died13 October 2016(2016-10-13) (aged 88)
Bangkok, Thailand
Burial26 October 2017
Spouse
​
(m. 1950)​
Issue
Detail
Names
Phrabat Somdet Phra Poraminthra Maha Bhumibol Adulyadej Mahitalathibet Ramathibodi Chakri Naribodin Sayamintharathirat Boromanatbophit
Posthumous name
Phrabat Somdet Phra Boromchanak Adhipeshra Maha Bhumibol Adulyadej Maharat Boromanatbophit
HouseMahidol (Chakri dynasty)[a]
FatherMahidol Adulyadej
MotherSangwan Talapat
ReligionTheravada Buddhism
Signature
Bhumibol Adulyadej's voice
Bhumibol announcing a tour of South Vietnam
Recorded 17 December 1959

Bhumibol Adulyadej[b] (5 December 1927 – 13 October 2016), on whom the title of Bhumibol the Great was posthumously conferred,[c][2][3][4][5] was the ninth king of the Chakri dynasty of Thailand, titled Rama IX, from 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 verified reign of any monarch of a sovereign state in history (after Louis XIV and Elizabeth II).[6][7]

Born in the United States, Bhumibol spent his early life in Switzerland, 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 (Rama VII). He ascended to the throne in June 1946, succeeding his brother, King Ananda Mahidol, (Rama VIII), who had died under mysterious circumstances.

In the course of his rule, Bhumibol presided over Thailand's transformation into a major U.S. ally and a regional economic power. Between 1985 and 1994, Thailand was the world's fastest growing economy, according to the World Bank,[8] and in the 1990s was predicted by many international journalists to be the next "Asian Tiger".[9] 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.[9] Bhumibol's reign was characterized by several periods of gradual democratization punctuated by frequent military coups, the last of which occurred in 2014.

Forbes estimated Bhumibol's fortune—including property and investments managed by the Crown Property Bureau, a body that is neither private nor government-owned (assets managed by the Bureau were owned by the crown as an institution, not by the monarch as an individual)[10]—to be US$30 billion in 2010, and he headed the magazine's list of the "world's richest royals" from 2008 to 2013.[11][12][13] In 2014, Bhumibol's wealth was again listed as US$30 billion.[14]

After a period of deteriorating health which left him hospitalized on several occasions, Bhumibol died in 2016 at Siriraj Hospital.[15] He was highly revered by the people in Thailand[16]—some saw him as close to divine.[17][18] Notable political activists and Thai citizens who criticized the king or the institution of monarchy were often forced into exile or suffered frequent imprisonments.[19][20] His cremation was held in 2017 at the royal crematorium at Sanam Luang.[21] His son, Vajiralongkorn, succeeded him as King Rama X of Thailand.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ Williams, Monier (1899), A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, Oxford, Clarendon Press, OCLC 458052227, pages 763, 722, 451, 452
  2. ^ Stengs, Irene (1 January 2009). Worshipping the Great Moderniser: King Chulalongkorn, Patron Saint of the Thai Middle Class. NUS Press. ISBN 9789971694296. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  3. ^ Grossman, Nicholas (1 January 2009). Chronicle of Thailand: Headline News Since 1946. Editions Didier Millet. ISBN 9789814217125. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  4. ^ Fry, Gerald W.; Nieminen, Gayla S.; Smith, Harold E. (8 August 2013). Historical Dictionary of Thailand. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7525-8. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  5. ^ The Rotarian. Rotary International. 13 October 2016. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  6. ^ "A Royal Occasion speeches". Journal. Worldhop. 1996. Archived from the original on 12 May 2006. Retrieved 5 July 2006.
  7. ^ Redmond, Brien (13 October 2016). "Thailand's King Bhumibol Dies, Triggering Anguish and Fears of Unrest". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 28 November 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  8. ^ Phongpaichit, Pasuk (1996). "THE THAI ECONOMY IN THE MID-1990s". Southeast Asian Affairs. 1996: 369–381. doi:10.1355/SEAA96T. ISSN 0377-5437. JSTOR 27912162.
  9. ^ a b "The Asian 'Tiger' Economy That Never Quite Roared". Bloomberg.
  10. ^ Simon Mortland (20 January 2012). "In Thailand, A Rare Peek at His Majesty's Balance Sheet". Forbes. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  11. ^ Serafin, Tatiana (7 July 2010). "The World's Richest Royals". Forbes. Archived from the original on 25 June 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  12. ^ "The World's Richest Royals". Forbes. 29 April 2011. Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  13. ^ Joshua Kurlantzick (24 January 2012). "Forbes Looks into the King of Thailand's Wealth". Council on Foreign Relations. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference Chris was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Palling, Bruce (13 October 2016). "King Bhumibol Adulyadej obituary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  16. ^ Head, Jonathan (5 December 2007). "Why Thailand's king is so revered". BBC News. Archived from the original on 17 February 2009. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  17. ^ Holmes, Oliver (13 October 2016). "Thai king Bhumibol Adulyadej dies after 70-year reign". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  18. ^ "Thailand's King Bhumibol, world's longest reigning monarch, dies at 88". Reuters. 13 October 2016. Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  19. ^ Yimprasert, Junya (2010). "Why I don't love the King". Global Labour Institute. Archived from the original on 12 January 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  20. ^ "Lese majeste charge against scholar dropped". The Straits Times. 18 January 2018. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  21. ^ "Thai king's cremation set for Oct. 26: government official". Reuters. 19 April 2017. Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2017.