1.
Thailand
–
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand, formerly known as Siam, is a country at the centre of the Indochinese peninsula in Southeast Asia. With a total area of approximately 513,000 km2, Thailand is the worlds 51st-largest country and it is the 20th-most-populous country in the world, with around 66 million people. The capital and largest city is Bangkok, Thailand is a constitutional monarchy and has switched between parliamentary democracy and military junta for decades, the latest coup being in May 2014 by the National Council for Peace and Order. Its capital and most populous city is Bangkok and its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India on the Andaman Sea to the southwest. The Thai economy is the worlds 20th largest by GDP at PPP and it became a newly industrialised country and a major exporter in the 1990s. Manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism are leading sectors of the economy and it is considered a middle power in the region and around the world. The country has always been called Mueang Thai by its citizens, by outsiders prior to 1949, it was usually known by the exonym Siam. The word Siam has been identified with the Sanskrit Śyāma, the names Shan and A-hom seem to be variants of the same word. The word Śyâma is possibly not its origin, but a learned, another theory is the name derives from Chinese, Ayutthaya emerged as a dominant centre in the late fourteenth century. The Chinese called this region Xian, which the Portuguese converted into Siam, the signature of King Mongkut reads SPPM Mongkut King of the Siamese, giving the name Siam official status until 24 June 1939 when it was changed to Thailand. Thailand was renamed Siam from 1945 to 11 May 1949, after which it reverted to Thailand. According to George Cœdès, the word Thai means free man in the Thai language, ratcha Anachak Thai means kingdom of Thailand or kingdom of Thai. Etymologically, its components are, ratcha, -ana- -chak, the Thai National Anthem, written by Luang Saranupraphan during the extremely patriotic 1930s, refers to the Thai nation as, prathet Thai. The first line of the anthem is, prathet thai ruam lueat nuea chat chuea thai, Thailand is the unity of Thai flesh. There is evidence of habitation in Thailand that has been dated at 40,000 years before the present. Similar to other regions in Southeast Asia, Thailand was heavily influenced by the culture and religions of India, Thailand in its earliest days was under the rule of the Khmer Empire, which had strong Hindu roots, and the influence among Thais remains even today. Voretzsch believes that Buddhism must have been flowing into Siam from India in the time of the Indian Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Empire, later Thailand was influenced by the south Indian Pallava dynasty and north Indian Gupta Empire. The Menam Basin was originally populated by the Mons, and the location of Dvaravati in the 7th century, the History of the Yuan mentions an embassy from the kingdom of Sukhothai in 1282
2.
Bangkok
–
Bangkok is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep. The city occupies 1,568.7 square kilometres in the Chao Phraya River delta in Central Thailand, over 14 million people live within the surrounding Bangkok Metropolitan Region, making Bangkok an extreme primate city, significantly dwarfing Thailands other urban centres in terms of importance. Bangkok was at the heart of the modernization of Siam—later renamed Thailand—during the late 19th century, the city grew rapidly during the 1960s through the 1980s and now exerts a significant impact on Thailands politics, economy, education, media and modern society. The Asian investment boom in the 1980s and 1990s led many multinational corporations to locate their headquarters in Bangkok. The city is now a regional force in finance and business. It is a hub for transport and health care, and has emerged as a regional centre for the arts, fashion. The city is known for its vibrant street life and cultural landmarks. The historic Grand Palace and Buddhist temples including Wat Arun and Wat Pho stand in contrast with other tourist attractions such as the scenes of Khaosan Road. Bangkok is among the top tourist destinations. It is named the most visited city in MasterCards Global Destination Cities Index, Bangkoks rapid growth amidst little urban planning and regulation has resulted in a haphazard cityscape and inadequate infrastructure systems. The city has turned to public transport in an attempt to solve this major problem. Five rapid transit lines are now in operation, with more systems under construction or planned by the national government and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration. The history of Bangkok dates at least back to the early 15th century, because of its strategic location near the mouth of the river, the town gradually increased in importance. Bangkok initially served as a customs outpost with forts on both sides of the river, and became the site of a siege in 1688 in which the French were expelled from Siam. After the fall of Ayutthaya to the Burmese Empire in 1767, the newly declared King Taksin established his capital at the town, in 1782, King Phutthayotfa Chulalok succeeded Taksin, moved the capital to the eastern banks Rattanakosin Island, thus founding the Rattanakosin Kingdom. The City Pillar was erected on 21 April, which is regarded as the date of foundation of the present city, Bangkoks economy gradually expanded through busy international trade, first with China, then with Western merchants returning in the early-to-mid 19th century. As the capital, Bangkok was the centre of Siams modernization as it faced pressure from Western powers in the late 19th century, Bangkok became the centre stage for power struggles between the military and political elite as the country abolished absolute monarchy in 1932
3.
Pattaya
–
Pattaya is a resort city in Thailand. It is on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about 100 kilometres south-east of Bangkok, within, the Pattaya City is a self-governing municipal area which covers the whole tambon Nong Prue and Na Klua and parts of Huai Yai and Nong Pla Lai. The city is in the industrial Eastern Seaboard zone, along with Si Racha, Laem Chabang, Pattayas census population figure is 107,406, yet this only accounts for residents who have formally registered in the city. Pattaya is the center of the Pattaya-Chonburi Metropolitan Area—the conurbation in Chonburi Province—with a total population exceeding 1,000,000. The name Pattaya evolved from the march of Phraya Tak and his army from Ayutthaya to Chanthaburi, when his army arrived in the vicinity of what is now Pattaya, Phraya Tak encountered the troops of a local leader named Nai Klom, who tried to intercept him. When the two met face to face, Nai Klom was impressed by Phraya Taks dignified manner and his armys strict discipline and he surrendered without a fight and joined his forces. The place the armies confronted each other was known as Thap Phraya. This later became Pattaya, the name of the wind blowing from the south-west to the north-east at the beginning of the rainy season, Pattaya was a fishing village until the 1960s. Then, during the Vietnam War, American servicemen stationed at nearby U-Tapao or other US bases in Thailand began visiting Pattaya and they rented several houses at the south end of the beach from a prominent Thai, Lord Sunthorn. Despite their short stay, the soldiers had a great time, the word spread among other American soldiers stationed in the region and Pattaya quickly became a hot alternative to Bangkok. Pattaya has a wet and dry climate, which is divided into the following seasons, hot and dry, hot and humid. The city had 104,318 registered inhabitants in 2007, including non-registered residents, the population numbers for Pattaya were estimated by Thai sources at around 300,000 at any given time. Other estimates put the figure as high as 500,000, Pattaya additionally has massive population inflow from tourism, with its 2000 hotels and 136,000 rooms available as of 2015. Due to the tourist industry, many people from the north-east have come to work in Pattaya, there is a fast-growing community of foreign retirees living in Pattaya. Thailand immigration has a special category for foreigners over age 50 who wish to retire in Thailand. Pattaya is attractive to retirees from other countries not only because of its climate and exotic, easy lifestyle. Pattaya, on the Gulf of Thailand, is approximately 160 kilometres south of the city of Bangkok in the Bang Lamung District. The city of Pattaya is a municipal area which covers the whole tambon Nong Prue and Na Kluea and parts of Huai Yai
4.
Damrong Rajanubhab
–
Prince Tisavarakumarn, the Prince Damrong Rajanubhab was the founder of the modern Thai educational system as well as the modern provincial administration. He was an autodidact, a historian, and one of the most influential Thai intellectuals of his time, at the age of 14, he received his formal education in a special palace school created by his half-brother, King Chulalongkorn. In 1887, he was appointed as grand-officer to the army, at the same time he was chosen by the king to become the Minister of Education in his provisional cabinet. When King Chulalongkorn began his administrative reform programme in 1892, Prince Damrong was chosen to lead the Ministry of the North, in his time as minister, he completely overhauled provincial administration. Formal education of staff was introduced. Prince Damrong was among the most important advisors of the king, for further information, see, Gustave Rolin-Jaequemyns #Situation in Siam Legal traditions made little if any sense to foreigners. Nor did they have knowledge of the ancient political climate, nor aware that the Bowring Treaty, which nearly all considered a significant advancement, had accomplished none of its objectives and had been set-back for the Siamese for the ensuing decades. Monthon reforms met resistance, complicated by French interference in Siamese authority. Prince Damrong went to Europe in search of a European general advisor for the king by way of the Suez Canal, following a hasty correspondence with Bangkok, the prince was able to offer Rolin-Jaequemyns an annual salary of ₤3,000. Among his successors were Edward Strobel, the first American adviser in affairs, followed with lesser titles by Jens Westengard, Eldon James. Strobel, Westengard, James, and Sayre were all Harvard law professors, after the death of King Chulalongkorn in 1910, the relationship with his successor King Vajiravudh was less productive. Prince Damrong finally resigned in 1915 from his post at the ministry, officially due to health problems, during the brief reign of King Prajadhipok, the prince proposed that the king found the Royal Institute, mainly to look after the National Library and the museums. He became the first president of the Royal Institute of Thailand and he was given the title Somdet Phra Chao Borommawong Thoe Krom Phraya Damrong Rajanubhab by King Prajadhipok in recognition to his work. This became the name by which he is generally known, in the following years, Damrong worked as a self-educated historian, as well as writing books on Thai literature, culture and arts. Out of his works grew the National Library, as well as the National Museum, being one of the main apologists for absolute monarchy, after the Siamese revolution of 1932 which introduced Constitutional monarchy in the kingdom, Damrong was exiled to Penang in British Malaysia. In 1942, after the old establishment had substantially regained power from the 1932 reformists, he was allowed to return to Bangkok, Prince Damrong is credited as the father of Thai history, the education system, the health system and the provincial administration. He also had a role in crafting Bangkoks anti-democratic state ideology of Thainess. On the centenary of his birth in 1962, he became the first Thai to be included in the UNESCO list of the worlds most distinguished persons
5.
Thaksin Shinawatra
–
Thaksin Shinawatra is a Thai businessman and politician. Between 2001 and 2006, he was the Prime Minister of Thailand and he joined politics in 1994, founded the Thai Rak Thai Party in 1998 and, after a landslide electoral victory, became prime minister in 2001. Thaksins government launched programs to poverty, expand infrastructure, promote small and medium-sized enterprises. Thaksin declared a war on drugs in which more than 2,500 people died and he was the first democratically elected prime minister of Thailand to serve a full term and was re-elected in 2005 by an overwhelming majority. After selling shares of his worth more than a billion dollars to foreign investors without paying taxes. A citizens movement against Thaksin, called Peoples Alliance for Democracy or yellow shirts, launched mass protests, accusing him of corruption, abuse of power, Thaksin called snap elections that were boycotted by the opposition and invalidated by the Constitutional Court. He was overthrown in a coup on 19 September 2006. His party was outlawed and he was barred from political activity, Thaksin has since lived in self-imposed exile except for a brief visit to Thailand in 2008. He was sentenced in absentia to two years in jail for abuse of power and his younger sister Yingluck Shinawatra was the prime minister of Thailand from 2011 to 2014. Thaksins great-grandfather, Seng Saekhu, was an immigrant from Meizhou, Guangdong, China and his eldest son, Chiang Saekhu, was born in Chanthaburi in 1890 and married a Thai woman named Saeng Samana. Chiangs eldest son, Sak, adopted the Thai surname Shinawatra in 1938 because of the countrys anti-Chinese movement, Seng Saekhu had made his fortune through tax farming. Chiang Saekhu/Shinawatra later founded Shinawatra Silks and then moved into finance, construction, Thaksins father, Loet, was born in Chiang Mai in 1919 and married Yindi Ramingwong. Yindis father, Charoen Ramingwong, was a Hakka immigrant who married Princess Chanthip na Chiangmai, in 1968, Loet Shinawatra entered politics and became an MP for Chiang Mai and deputy leader of the now-defunct Liberal Party. Loet Shinawatra quit politics in 1976 and he opened a coffee shop, grew oranges and flowers in Chiang Mais San Kamphaeng district, and opened two cinemas, a gas station, and a car and motorcycle dealership. By the time Thaksin was born, the Shinawatra family was one of the richest and most influential families in Chiang Mai, Thaksin was born in San Kamphaeng, Chiang Mai province. He lived in the village of San Kamphaeng until he was 15, at 16, he helped run one of his fathers cinemas. Thaksin married Potjaman Damapong in July 1976 and they have one son, Panthongtae and two daughters, Pintongtha and Peathongtarn. Thaksin Shinawatra was a member of the 10th class of the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School, graduating in 1973, he joined the Royal Thai Police
6.
Departments of Ivory Coast
–
Departments of Ivory Coast are currently the third-level administrative subdivision of the country. Each of the 31 second-level regions of Ivory Coast is divided into two or more departments, each department is divided into two or more sub-prefectures, which are the fourth-level subdivisions in Ivory Coast. As of 2016, there are 108 departments of Ivory Coast, There is one area of Ivory Coast that is not governed by departments, the portion of Comoé National Park that is within Zanzan District is not assigned to any department. Departments were first created in 1961, during their existence, they have been first-, second-, and third-level administrative subdivisions. There are currently 108 departments of Ivory Coast, the departments are as follows, Departments were established in 1961 and were the original first-level administrative subdivision of independent Ivory Coast. Initially, there were just four departments, Centre, Nord, Sud-Est, in 1963, two more departments were created, Est was created by dividing Sud-Est, and Centre-Ouest) was created by dividing Sud-Ouest. As a result of the divisions, Sud-Est was renamed Sud, in 1969, the six departments were abolished and in their place 24 new departments were created. The following table illustrates how the old departments were divided into the new departments, Due to a lack of government resources, from 1974 onward, new departments were occasionally created through division of pre-existing departments. New departments were created in 1974,1980,1988, and 1995, in 1997, when there were 50 departments, regions were created, which supplanted departments as the first-level administrative subdivision. As a result, the 50 departments became second-level divisions, more departments were created in 1998,2005,2008, and 2009. By the time of the reorganisation of the subdivisions of Ivory Coast. In the 2011 reorganisation of the subdivisions of Ivory Coast, five new departments were created, more significantly, however, districts were created as a new first-level division. As a result, regions became second-level subdivisions and the 95 departments became third-level subdivisions, since the 2011 reorganisation,13 more departments have been created, bringing the total number to 108. Twelve departments were created in 2012 and one was created in 2013, Departments are named after the city or town that serves as the seat of the department. In most cases, this is the most populous settlement in the department, each department is headed by a prefect, who is appointed by the council of ministers of the national government. For departments that house regional capitals, the prefect of the department is the individual as the prefect of the region. Each department is divided into two or more sub-prefectures, which serve as administrative subdivisions. There are currently 510 sub-prefectures in the country, below are the departments divided by district and region with the establishment year of the departments in parentheses
7.
Government of Thailand
–
The Government of Thailand, or formally the Royal Thai Government, is the unitary government of the Kingdom of Thailand. The country emerged as a nation state after the foundation of the Chakri Dynasty. The Revolution of 1932 brought an end to absolute monarchy and replaced it with a constitutional monarchy, from then on the country was ruled by a succession of military leaders installed after coups d’etat, the most recent in May 2014, and a few democratic intervals. The 2007 Constitution was annulled by the 2014 coup-makers who run the country as a military dictatorship, Thailand has so far had seventeen Constitutions. Throughout, the structure of government has remained the same. The government of Thailand is composed of three branches, the executive, the legislative, and the judiciary, the system of government is modelled after the Westminster system. All branches of government are concentrated in Bangkok, the city of Thailand. The constitution stipulates that although the sovereignty of the state is vested in the people, under the constitution the king is given very little power, but remains a figurehead and symbol of the Thai nation. As the head of state, however, he is given some powers and has a role to play in the workings of government, according to the constitution, the king is head of the armed forces. He is required to be Buddhist as well as the defender of all faiths in the country, the king also retained some traditional powers such as the power to appoint his heirs, the power to grant pardons, and the royal assent. The king is aided in his duties by the Privy Council of Thailand, the king is also head of the House of Chakri, the ruling house of Thailand founded by King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke in 1782. The monarchy and the family continues to command huge respect in Thailand. The previous monarch wielded a great deal of respect and moral authority. The monarchs official home is the Grand Palace, however the present king lives primarily in the Chitralada Palace in Bangkok or the Klai Kangwon Villa, the monarchs household is managed by the Bureau of the Royal Household and his finances by the Crown Property Bureau. The heir presumptive to the throne is Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti, although it is up to the discretion whether Prince Dipangkorn will be named Crown Prince in the future. Succession to the throne is governed by the 1924 Palace Law of Succession, Palace law follows the male agnatic primogeniture, where males only are allowed to succeed and inheritance is passed only from father to son and through the male line only. Since 1932 the head of government of Thailand has been the Prime Minister of Thailand, the prime minister is, in accordance with the constitution, selected, first by an election in the lower house, then officially appointed by the King. The prime minister, as head of the branch, is also the leader of the Cabinet of Thailand
8.
District
–
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by local government. Across the world, areas known as districts vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions of municipalities, school district, in Afghanistan, a district is a subdivision of a province. There are almost 400 districts in the country, electoral districts are used in state elections. Districts were also used in several states as cadastral units for land titles, some were used as squatting districts. New South Wales had several different types of districts used in the 21st century, in Austria, a district is an administrative division normally encompassing several municipalities, roughly equivalent to the Landkreis in Germany. The administrative office of a district, the Bezirkshauptmannschaft, is headed by a Bezirkshauptmann, while there are matters of administrative law the municipalities themselves are in charge of, or where there are special bodies, the district is the basic unit of general administration in Austria. Officials on the level are not elected, but appointed by the state government. There are also independent cities in Austria and they are called Statutarstadt in Austrian administrative law. These urban districts do have the same tasks as a normal district, the State of Vienna, which is at the same time a municipality, is also subdivided in twenty-three districts, which, however, have a somewhat different function than in the rest of the country. Legally, the Magistratisches Bezirksamt is an office of the municipalitys administration. However, representatives on the level are elected, and they in turn elect the head of the district. Those representative bodies are supposed to serve as immediate contacts for the locals on the political, in practice, they have some power, e. g. concerning matters of traffic. Bangladeshi districts are administrative units. In all, there are 64 districts in Bangladesh, originally, there were 21 greater districts with several subdivisions in each district. In 1984, the government made all these subdivisions into districts, each district has several sub districts called Upazila in Bengali. In Belgian municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, on initiative of the local council, as such, only Antwerp, having over 460,000 inhabitants, became subdivided into nine districts. The Belgian arrondissements, a level between province and municipality, or the lowest judicial level, are in English sometimes called districts as well. Bhutanese districts are administrative units consisting of village blocks called gewog
9.
Township
–
The word township is used to refer to various kinds of settlements in different countries. While a township may be associated with an area, there are many exceptions to this rule. In Australia, Canada, and the United States, they may be too small to be considered urban. In Australia, the designation of township traditionally refers to a town or a small community in a rural district. The term refers purely to the settlement, it does not refer to a unit of government, in Canada, two kinds of township occur in common use. In eastern Canada, a township is one form of the subdivision of a county, in Canadian French, this is a canton. Townships are referred to as lots in Prince Edward Island, they merely form census subdivisions and are not administrative units. In Canada, a municipality is a city, town, township, county and it is also a specific designation for certain municipalities in Quebec, Nova Scotia and Ontario. In western Canada, townships exist only for the purpose of land division by the Dominion Land Survey and these townships are nominally six miles by six miles. Townships are designated by their number and range number. Township 1 is the first north of the First Base Line, in China, townships are found at the fourth level of the administrative hierarchy, together with ethnic townships, towns and subdistricts. In local government in New Zealand, there are no towns or townships. All land is part of either a city or a district, the term municipality has become rare in New Zealand since about 1979 and has no legal status. The term township is, however, still in usage in New Zealand. The expression would generally equate to that of village in England, in the Philippines, townships referred to administrative divisions established during the American Civil Government in the country. Many of these divisions were originally established as rancherias during the Spanish Regime. The term was replaced with municipal district. Most municipal districts would later be converted into municipalities by executive orders from the Philippine President
10.
Thesaban
–
Thesaban are the municipalities of Thailand. There are three levels of municipalities, city, town, and sub-district, both Bangkok and Pattaya are special municipal entities not included in the thesaban system. The municipalities assume some of the responsibilities which are assigned to the districts or communes for non-municipal areas, historically, this devolution of central government powers grew out of the Sukhaphiban sanitary districts first created in Bangkok by a royal decree of King Chulalongkorn in 1897. The 1953 act was most recently amended by the Thesaban Act of 2003, Thesaban nakhon is usually translated as city municipality. To qualify for city status a municipality needs to have a population of at least 50,000, when first organized in 1934, the minimum qualifications for city status were a population of 30,000 with a density of 1,000 per km². In 1939 the required population density was increased to 2,000 per km², in 1953 the population density requirement was again raised, to 3,000 per km², before being removed entirely in 2000. Until 1972 there were three city municipalities, Chiang Mai, Phra Nakhon, and Thonburi, in 1994, Nakhon Si Thammarat town municipality became the second city municipality of Thailand, and the third in the south. Thesaban mueang is usually translated as town municipality, for a municipality to qualify as a town, it either needs to be a provincial capital, or have a population of at least 10,000 and sufficient income to cover the tasks of a town. When first organized in 1934, minimum qualification for town status was a population of 3,000 with a density of 1,000 per km². In 1939 requirements were increased to a population of 5,000 with a density of 2,000 per km², plus a financial criterion. In 1953, the population requirements was raised to the present value. Thesaban tambon, the lowest level unit, is usually translated as sub-district municipality. Despite the name, it may not necessarily cover the area as a sub-district, i. e. it may not cover a tambon completely, or conversely. Many of todays thesaban municipalities were originally sukhaphiban tambon, sanitation districts, the number of which had grown to 35 in 1935, new sanitary districts were again established starting in 1952. With the Act to Upgrade Sanitary Districts to Thesaban of May 1999 all were converted in May 1999, mueang, Thailand Section List of cities in Thailand by population List of cities in Thailand Subdivisions of Thailand History of administrative reforms http, //www. tessaban. com
11.
Provinces of Thailand
–
Thailand is a unitary state that is subdivided into 76 provinces and one special administrative area representing the capital Bangkok. The provinces are part of the government, while Bangkok is part of the local government. Total land area of Thailand is 513,114 km², total population of Thailand is 65,118,726. Thailands national government organisation is divided into three types, central government, provincial government and local government, a province, as part of the provincial government, is administered by a governor who is appointed by the Minister of Interior. Bangkok, as part of the government, is administered by a corporation called Bangkok Metropolitan Administration. The corporation is led by the Governor of Bangkok who is elected by the citizens of Bangkok. The provinces are named by their main city, which is not necessarily still the most populous city within the province today. Also, in several provinces the administration was moved into a new building outside the city, many provinces date back to semi-independent local chiefdoms or kingdoms, which made up the Ayutthaya kingdom. As today, the provinces were created around a capital city, the governor was not paid by the king, but instead financed himself and his administration by imposing taxes by himself, thus effectively a kleptocracy. Every province was required to send a tribute to Bangkok. The provinces were divided into four different classes, the first class were the border provinces. The second class were those that once had their own princely house, third class were provinces that were created recently by splitting them from other provinces. Fourth class were provinces near the capital, in this Mandala system the semi-independent countries sometimes were tributary to more than one country. Reforms of the administration started in the 1870s under increased pressure from the colonial states of the United Kingdom. Especially to the areas near the borders commissionaries were sent to have a control on the provinces or tributary states. At the end of the 19th century King Chulalongkorn reformed the government drastically. In 1892 the ministry, which previously had many overlapping responsibilities, was reorganized with clear areas as in western administrations, Prince Damrong Rajanubhab became minister of the Ministry of the North, originally responsible for the northern administration. When the Ministry of the South was dissolved in 1894, Prince Damrong became Minister of the Interior, starting in 1893 the already existing commissionarships in some parts of the country were renamed to superintendent commissioner, and their area of responsibility was called monthon
