Supreme Council of State of Siam - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Supreme Council of State of Siam ( was an advisory and legislative council established by His Majesty King Prajadhipok

Prajadhipok

Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramintharamaha Prajadhipok Phra Pok Klao Chao Yu Hua , or Rama VII was the seventh monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri. He was the last absolute monarch and the first constitutional monarch of the country. His reign was a turbulent time for Siam due to huge political...

of Siam (Rama VII) that existed from 1925 to 1932. The Eton

Eton College

Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....

and Sandhurst educated monarch wished to create a council similar to a cabinet

Cabinet (government)

A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...

, where the most important government officials could meet to decide on state affairs. The Council was founded on the 28 November 1925.

Members

The Council was composed of 5 members, each a prince

Prince

Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...

of the Chakri Dynasty who had held ministerial positions during the reigns of King Rama V and Rama VI (Prajadhipok’s father and older brother). The Councillors were:

Name
Prince Bhanurangsi Savangwongse Bhanurangsi Savangwongse Field Marshal Prince Bhanurangsi Savangwongse, The Prince Banubandhu Vongsevoradej was a son of HM King Mongkut of Siam and HM Queen Debsirindra.... , The Prince Banubandhu Vongsevoradej
Prince Paripatra Sukhumbhand, Prince of Nakorn Sawan
Prince Narisara Nuvadtivongs Narisara Nuvadtivongs His Royal Highness Prince Chitcharoen, the Prince Narisara Nuvativongse was the son of Mongkut, King Rama IV of Siam and Princess Consort Pannarai. He was the member of the Siamese Royal Family . He created The House of Chitrabhongse , which is the descent family from the Chakri Dynasty...
Prince Damrong Rajanubhab Damrong Rajanubhab Ditsawarakuman Damrong Rajanubhab was the founder of the modern Thai education system as well as the modern provincial administration...
Prince Kitiyakara Voralaksana Kitiyakara Voralaksana His Royal Highness Prince Kitiyakara Voralaksana, Prince of Chanthaburi, or Phra Chao Boromwongse Ther Phra Ong Chao Kitiyakara Voralaksana Kromma Phra Chanthaburi Narunath ; 8 June 1874 – 27 May 1931) was a Prince of Siam, a member of the Siamese Royal Family . He originated the House of... Prince of Chanthaburi

The Council was not the only organ of government at the time. The King also had a Privy Council ( and a Council of Secretaries (. However, the Supreme Council was regarded as the most important. Prince Paripatra was the most dominant member of the Council of State, since he was then heir to the throne and Minister of the Interior

Ministry of Interior (Thailand)

The Ministry of Interior of the Kingdom of Thailand is an important Cabinet-level department in the Government of Thailand. The Ministry is given wide ranging responsibilities over many aspects...

History

During its existence the council took many initiatives. For example, in 1929 the Council decided to cut public spending on the government including civil servant’s pay and defence spending, an action which was one of the main justifications the Khana Ratsadon

Khana Ratsadon

Khana Ratsadon , frequently mistakenly written as Khana Rat , was a Siamese group of military and civil officers, and later a political party, which staged a bloodless coup against King Prajadhipok and transited the country's absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy on 24 June 1932.-The...

(the People's Party) gave for the Revolution of 1932

Siamese Revolution of 1932

The Siamese Revolution of 1932 or the Siamese Coup d'état of 1932 was a crucial turning point in Thai history in the 20th century...

.

The Council filled many civil service

Civil service

The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....

and military positions with their own relatives, replacing many commoners appointed under King Vajiravudh (Rama VI), which also created discontent in the country. The Council increased taxes on the populace to try to stem the economic downturn the country faced after the British Empire

British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

, Siam’s largest trading partner, abandoned the gold standard

Gold standard

The gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed mass of gold. There are distinct kinds of gold standard...

.

The most important action by the Council was the rejection of King Prajadhipok’s draft Constitution for the Kingdom of Siam in early 1932, on the 150th anniversary of the House of Chakri and the foundation of Bangkok

Bangkok

Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...

. The constitution would have given the people their first parliament, with a popularly elected lower house

Lower house

A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...

and an expanded Supreme Council as an upper house

Upper house

An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...

. A few months later the Khana Ratsadon staged a coup which ended the absolutist monarchy

Absolute monarchy

Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government in which the monarch exercises ultimate governing authority as head of state and head of government, his or her power not being limited by a constitution or by the law. An absolute monarch thus wields unrestricted political power over the...

and replaced it with a constitutional monarchy

Constitutional monarchy

Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...

. The constitution in which they promulgated abrogated the many powers of the monarch and dissolved the Supreme Council; it exiled the influential Prince Paripatra Sukhumband for life.

Members

History

See also