Prince Mahisorn

{|align=right
Infobox Monarch|royal
name =Jayata Mongkol
title =Prince of Siam ,
Prince of Mahisara Rajaharudaya


caption =HRH Prince Jayata Mongkol ,
Prince of Mahisara Rajaharudaya
othertitles =Prince of Mahisara Rajaharudaya
full name =HRH Prince Jayata Mongkol ,
Prince of Mahisara Rajaharudaya
spouse =Princess Suphangphaktra Jayata(Charoonroj)
Mom Noi Jayata na Ayudhaya(Yuktasewe)
Mom Hei Jayata na Ayudhaya(Yuktasewe)
Mom Soun Jayata na Ayudhaya(Yuktasewe)
Mom Kleb Jayata na Ayudhaya(Chukaviroj)
issue = 13 sons and daughters
royal house =House of Chakri
father =King Mongkut
mother =Chao Chom Manda Huang
date of birth =birth date|1865|1|30
place of birth =flagicon|ThailandBangkok, Thailand
date of death =1907
place of death =flagicon|ThailandBangkok, Thailand
date of burial =
place of burial =|

H.R.H. Prince of Mahisara Rajaharudaya (Thai: พระองค์เจ้าไชยันตมงคล กรมหมื่นมหิศรราชหฤทัย), originally named Prince Jayata Mongkol, was born 30 January 1865. A son of King Rama IV and his Royal Consort Huang, he was 13 years younger than his brother, H.M. King Rama V. The Prince was a leading member of the progressive clique known as the ‘Young Siam’, on whom H.M. King Rama V relied for support in his efforts to reform the country. At the King’s insistence, the younger members of his family and extended family were all educated in Western ways, sometimes attending schools abroad.

H.R.H. Prince Mahisara began his public career at the Royal Guard and was later transferred to a civilian post in the Bureau of the Royal Secretariat. In 1895, at the age of 30, he was promoted to a very high position at the Siamese court. In that year, there was a major shuffle of ministerial posts, with eight of the 12 minister positions going to members of the Young Siam. The Prince was put in charge of the Finance Ministry, which had recently absorbed the Ministry of Agriculture. In 1897, when H.M. King Rama V embarked on a nine-month tour of Europe, H.R.H. Prince Mahisara, as Finance Minister, accompanied him and saw first-hand the government administration of several European states, and the important role banks played in developing the economy and promoting international trade.

Upon returning home, the Prince assumed the task of developing international trade relations and bringing Siam’s business practices in line with those of the Europeans. There was certainly a great need for an indigenous bank but the Prince realised that founding a bank would take time and expertise, while at the same time, there would be resistance from the established foreign banking community. The Prince also turned his attention to further reforming the awkward pod duang currency into a European-style metric system, involving just two units (1 baht equivalent to 100 satang). The reform made bookkeeping much easier and paved the way for the introduction of Siamese banknotes in 1902. Having succeeded with his currency reforms, H.R.H. Prince Mahisara went on to launch a small Siamese-owned private trust in 1904 called the Book Club. Three years later, this trust was the foundation for Siam’s first commercial bank, Siam Commercial Bank, Limited, which was launched under a royal charter on the Prince’s birthday, 30 January, in 1907. Because of his achievements, he is widely acknowledged as the ‘Father of Thai Banking’.

References

Century of Growth: The First 100 years of Siam Commercial Bank. Singapore: Editions Didier Millet, 2007.

See also

* Siam Commercial Bank