page_title: Privy Council of Thailand
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Privy Council of Thailand / History
context_page_description: The Privy Council of Thailand is a body of appointed advisors to the Monarchy of Thailand. The council, as the Constitution of Thailand stipulates, must be composed of no more than eighteen members. The council is led by the president of the Privy Council of Thailand; currently occupied by former Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont since 27 May 2019. The king alone appoints all members of the council. The council's offices are in the Privy Council Chambers, Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok.
  In recent years the council and its president in particular, have been accused of interfering in politics. This stems from the council's closeness to the military, in particular during the 2006 Thai coup d'état. General Prem was reappointed president of the privy council by the King Maha Vajiralongkorn on 2 December 2016, although in 2018 the office was stripped of some of its powers.
context_section_description: The first privy council in Siam was established by a royal decree on 8 May 1874, by King Chulalongkorn (or Rama V). The king, educated by Westerners, was keen on copying the system of government of the absolute monarchs of Europe. At first he created two councils: the "Privy Council of Siam" (Thai: ที่ปฤกษาในพระองค์; RTGS: thi prueksa nai phra ong) (49 members) and the "Council of State" (Thai: สภาที่ปรึกษาราชการแผ่นดิน; RTGS: sapha thi prueksa ratchakan phaendin) (12 members, name later changed to "Council of Ministers" (Thai: รัฐมนตรีสภา; RTGS: ratthamontrisapha)). The privy council was created to deal with legislative affairs while the latter became an early version of the cabinet.
  Chulalongkorn was succeeded by his son King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) in 1910, who at the beginning of his reign appointed a 40-member "Privy Council of State" (Thai: สภากรรมการองคมนตรี; RTGS: sapha kammakan ongkhamontri). The king, during his 15 years on the throne, would continue to appoint new members at Thai New Year (or 4 April). When he died in 1925 the privy council was composed of 233 members.
  King Prajadhipok (Rama VII) who succeeded his brother in 1925, completely overhauled the system and created instead three councils: The "Supreme Council of State of Siam" (Thai: อภิรัฐมนตรีสภา; RTGS: aphiratthamontrisapha) (composed of five senior princes, equivalent to the former Council of State); The "Council of Secretaries" (Thai: เสนาบดีสภา; RTGS: senabodisapha) (former Council of Ministers); and the Privy Council of State. The role of the Privy Council was relegated to minor legislative affairs, while the Supreme Council became Prajadhipok's main body of advisors.
  On 24 June 1932, a group calling themselves the Khana Ratsadon (or People's Party), together with the military, seized power in Bangkok. They abolished the system of absolute monarchy, changing Siam into a parliamentary constitutional monarchy and demanding of Prajadhipok a constitution for the people of Siam. The king granted them a "temporary" constitution in the same month and a permanent one in December. The Khana Ratsadon, once in power, abolished the Supreme Council and the Privy Council. They replaced the Council of Secretaries with the People's Committee of Siam.
  It was not until fifteen years later that the 1947 constitution of Siam recreated the Privy Council under King Bhumibol Adulyadej, with a name change to "Supreme Council of State" (Thai: คณะอภิรัฐมนตรี; RTGS: khana aphiratthamontri). This council existed from 1947 to 1949 and was composed of:
  Prince Rangsit Prayurasakdi, Prince of Chainat, President of the council
  Prince Dhani Nivat, Prince Bidyalabh Bridhyakon
  Prince Alongkot, Prince Adisorn Udomsak
  Phraya Manavaratsevi (Plod Vichear na Songkhla)
  Police General Adul Aduldejjarus
  Two years later, under the 1949 Constitution of Thailand, the council was renamed the "Privy Council of Thailand" (Thai: สภาองคมนตรี; RTGS: sapha ongkhamontri) or (Thai: คณะองคมนตรี; RTGS: khana ongkhamontri). The Privy Council in its current form was created by the 2017 Constitution of Thailand.
caption: King Chulalongkorn based the first privy council on European models.
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