To be a core member of the supreme commander's faction was the best assurance for being appointed minister and/or Member of Parliament. Within the bureaucracy bureaucratic elites became the patrons of various cliques and factions. Career advancement of bureaucrats was based on the power of their respective patrons and factions. Thus for four decades until 1973, the Thai polity was ruled by the bureaucratic elites. Thai polity was marked by short-lived civilian governments, a series of military coups d'etats. martial laws, military governments, and constitution promulgation.