Thailand’s national administrativesystem has been characterised by a top-down approach and a strong central government. Kovit Phong-ngam, Thailand’s Local Governance: Principle and Dimension in the Future
After the revolution in 1932, the government became a bureaucratic polity with the elites taking effective control of the new political system.
This reinforced the hierarchical character of the system with bureaucrats being left in place. because they were familiar with the system and adhered to the long-standing traditions of bureaucratic control.
There was the role of the military leadership because the Thai military leadership has intervened many times in the Thai political system.
Therefore, Thailand’s political system has not evolved as a strong democracy due to military intervention in government.
The structure of the Thai government
Thailand’s central administration consists of 19 ministries, including the Office of the Prime Minister.
Within each ministry, different organisations, departments, offices, bureaus, divisions and subdivisions are established to carry out government tasks and operations
At the central level, the primary obligation of government is not only to govern the country‘s affairs but also to initiate nationalpolicies to be implemented by the administration
There are four different areas of the central administrative system:
Office of Prime Minister
- The Office of Prime Minister is concerned with the affairs of the Prime
- Minister and the cabinet. In addition, this office is responsible for overseeing the national revenue and for ensuring the obligations set out in laws and regulations are observed
There are 20 ministries in the Thai government:
Office of the Prime Minister
Ministry of Defense
Ministry of Finance
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Tourism and Sports
Ministry of Social Development and Human Security
Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives
Ministry of Transport
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment
Ministry of Information and Communication Technology
Ministry of Energy
Ministry of Commerce
Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Labour
Ministry of Culture
Ministry of Science and Technology
Ministry of Education
Ministry of Public Health
Ministry of Industry
Governmental departments under the Office of Prime Minister or Ministries. For example, Department of
Provincial Administration, Ministry of Interior.
Department or other government agencies that are equivalent to governmental department, that maybe under the Office of Prime Minister or Ministries.
Provincial government
Thailand is divided into 76 provinces, including the metropolitan area of Bangkok, the capital city.
Each province has its own governor who is appointed directly by the Ministry of the Interior to be a representative of the government and coordinator of other government agencies working at the provincial level.
Provincial administrators are assigned by the central government under the concept of deconcentration.
Central government delegates its authority to staff from different departments of the 20 ministries.
These staff can work in different provinces and districts throughout the country.
They are acknowledged as officials from central government who have the responsibility of implementing and accomplishing any assigned work according to laws and regulations.
Each province (called Changwat in Thai) is divided into:
- districts (Amphoe)
- subdistricts (Tambon)
- villages (Muban)
Province
A province is comprised of several districts. Within each province, the governor ensures that central government policies are carried out.
This is done by staff working for the different ministries under the governor‘s control.
As well as the governor, who is the head of the province, there are a number of other officers including the vice governor, the deputy governor, and the heads of the different government organisations under ministries who assist the governor, supervise and organise staff at lower level and oversee their obligations.
There are 76 + 1 Provinces in Thailand which excludes Bangkok
Bangkok is called Bangkok Metropolitan Administration according to the Bangkok Metropolis Administrative Organisation Act, BE 2528 (1985).
District
At the district level, a district chief officer, appointed by the Ministry of the Interior is the head of staff working at the district level.
Apart from the district chief officer, the deputy district chief and heads of government organisations from different ministries are appointed to assist, supervise, and organise government affairs at the district level.