1932 Siamese coup d'état

The Siamese coup d'état on June 24 1932 marked the bloodless transition from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy in Thailand. King Prajadhipok (Rama VII) stayed on the throne, but abdicated three years later. The people behind the coup called themselves Khana Ratsadon (meant the People's Party). Among the conspirators were Field Marshal Phibunsongkhram, Dr. Pridi Phanomyong, Khuang Abhaiwongse, and Prayoon Phamornmontri.

Thailand's economic situation under the administration of King Prajadhipok (during 1925-1932) declined very dramatically, greatly affected by the world's economic crisis during the 1930s. The king himself confessed that he was a dark horse, never expecting to ascend the throne. Thus his ability to rule the country was very limited. Although, imitating his late father, King Chulalongkorn, he established two councils to help him, he was constantly criticized that the members of those councils were his cronies. Therefore the real problems couldn't be solved.

Many years before 1932, seven Thai students in Paris met together to make the most dangerous plan of their lives. They unanimously agreed that the only solution to the country's problems was to force the king to submit to the constitution, and open the opportunity for the efficient commoners to take over the leadership. It should be noted the owner of the house in which they met was Prayoon Phamornmontri, who claimed later in his famous book "Life under Five Reigns" that he had been the first one to persuade the other conspirators.

Returning to Thailand, they also succeeded in persuading the middle-ranking soldiers to participate. The leader of the coup was Colonel Phraya Phahol Pholphayuhasena, a student of the cadet school in Germany, and a close friend of Marshal Hermann Göring. The mastermind was Dr. Pridi Phanomyong, who wrote the coup's first declaration. The exact number of conspirators is unknown, but is estimated to be between 99 and 112.

Early in 1932, the secret police had been alerted to the impending coup, and some of the conspirators were arrested, but were soon released because Prince Boriphat of Nakornsawan, the minister of internal affairs, knew them very well and thought they were harmless. In April, the Chakri dynasty had been ruling the country for 150 years, but belief of its collapse was widespread.

The coup started in the early morning of June 24, several days after the king and his family went to their summer palace in Hua Hin (Prachuap Khiri Khan province). The conspirators led the unsuspecting regiments to gather at Sanam Luang under the pretext of manoeuvers and successfully persuaded them to join the coup. Colonel Phraya Phahol read the first and only declaration to fiercely attack the king and the cabinet. After that, the conspirators went to arrest the members of cabinet who mostly were high-ranked in the royal family, among them the Prince of Nakornsawan.

The king heard the news of the coup while playing golf and decided to go back to Bangkok two days later. Following negotiation, the king agreed to a constitution. The constitution was introduced in a ceremony on December 10 of the same year. The parliament was established; the first prime minister of Siam was Phraya Manopakorn Nititada, a lawyer, married to a lady-in-waiting of the Queen. The public nowadays are misled that the relationship between the king and the People's Party was gentle and sincere. But from the book "The Situations I Witnessed" written by Mom Chao Phunpitsamai Disakul, a close relative of the king, the king said if he had been attacked by the conspirators again, they would have shot his wife, Queen Rampaiparnni, and himself.

The mutual distrust began when the king dismissed Pridi's draft of economic plan as communism. The turmoil overwhelmed the parliament, which was dissolved, and Pridi was forced to leave the country. The problem lingered on until Colonel Phraya Phahol led a coup against the government, ousting Phraya Mano and becoming prime minister himself. The relationship between the king and the People's Party collapsed when Prince Bovoradej, the ex-minister of war in the cabinet of King Prajadhipok, led the army from Nakhon Ratchasima to fight against the government in 1934. The battle was as fierce and bloody as the civil war. Ultimately the coup failed, and Prince Bovoradej fled to French Indochina. During the battle, the neutral king and his family were helped by his council to flee to the south, afraid of being the pawn of either side. However, the government was suspicious that the king had been the supporter of the coup. In 1935, the king decided to go to England for an eye operation, and then abdicated. Not more than a week later, the People's Party sent its representative to invite the young Prince Ananda Mahidol, the son of Mahidol Adulyadej, Prince of Songkhla, who was living in Switzerland, to succeed the throne in the same year.

Despite all this, the Siamese coup d'état in 1932 is intentionally overlooked by mainstream Thai history, which still clings to monarchism. The anniversary of the coup d'état, 24 June, was celebrated by the People's Party when it was in power, but is no longer commemorated by the government (although the day the first constitution was granted, 10 December, is), and the conspirators have always been vilified by conservatives.

See also

*History of Thailand (1932-1973)
*Prajadhipok
*List of Prime Ministers of Thailand