The politics of Thailand are conducted within the framework of a constitutional monarchy, whereby the prime minister is the head of government and a hereditary monarch is head of state. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislative branches.
The Democrat Party is a Thai political party. The oldest party in Thailand, it was founded as a royalist party; it now upholds a conservative and pro-market position.
The Socialist Party of Thailand (SPT) was a political party in Thailand, active in the 1970s. SPT was led by its general secretary Boonsanong Punyodyana.
Sondhi Limthongkul is a Thai media mogul, conspiracy theorist, pro-Beijing anti-democracy reactionary activist, demagogue, and leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD). He was elected leader of the New Politics Party (NPP).
The People's Alliance for Democracy was a Thai reactionary, monarchist political movement and pressure group. It was originally a coalition of protesters against Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Prime Minister of Thailand.
Chamlong Srimuang is a Thai activist and former politician. A former general, he was a leader of the "Young Turks" military clique, founded and led the Palang Dharma Party, served for six years as governor of Bangkok, led the anti-military uprising of May 1992, and is a prominent member of the People's Alliance for Democracy, a group strongly opposed to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Chamlong had supported the military junta that overthrew Thaksin in a coup. A devout Buddhist and follower of the Santi Asoke sect, he is now celibate, a vegetarian, and claims to have no worldly possessions. Chamlong Srimuang received the Ramon Magsaysay Award in the category of Government Service in 1992.
Pipob Thongchai is a non-governmental organization leader who advocates a wide range of issues. He has been active since he was a college student, when he was secretary of the University Student Federation of Thailand. He is also a former member of the Council of Socio-economic Consultants of Thailand, the Committee for Democratic Advocacy of Thailand, and the Children's Foundation of Thailand.
The 2006 Thai coup d'état took place on 19 September 2006, when the Royal Thai Army staged a coup d'état against the elected caretaker government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The coup d'état, which was Thailand's first non-constitutional change of government in fifteen years since the 1991 Thai coup d'état, followed a year-long political crisis involving Thaksin, his allies, and political opponents and occurred less than a month before nationwide House elections were scheduled to be held. It has been widely reported in Thailand and elsewhere that General Prem Tinsulanonda, a key person in the military-monarchy nexus, Chairman of the Privy Council, was the mastermind of the coup. The military cancelled the scheduled 15 October elections, abrogated the 1997 constitution, dissolved parliament and the constitutional court, banned protests and all political activities, suppressed and censored the media, declared martial law nationwide, and arrested cabinet members.
The People's Power Party was a defunct Thai political party. The party leader was Somchai Wongsawat, the Party Secretary General was Surapong Suebwonglee, and the Party Spokesperson was Kuthep Saikrajarng. Most MPs of the party originally hailed from the Thai Rak Thai Party and thus the party was its de facto reincarnation with former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as its "leader." The PPP had a populist platform and was strong in the North, Central, and Northeastern regions of Thailand. The party became the leader of the coalition government after the junta-government supported 2007 general election. PAD, the leading anti-Thaksin movement, vowed to oppose it after the party decided to launch the amendment of the 2007 Constitution.
The Neutral Democratic Party was a Thai political party founded in 2006 by Somsak Thepsuthin, a former Thai Rak Thai party Cabinet Minister. The party had a similar populist line to the Thai Rak Thai and was expected to secure votes from Thai Rak Thai supporters.
Beginning in 2008, there was worsening conflict between the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and the People's Power Party (PPP) governments of Prime Ministers Samak Sundaravej and Somchai Wongsawat. It was a continuation of the 2005–2006 political crisis, when PAD protested against the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. PAD followers usually dressed in yellow, yellow being the royal color of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and were called "yellow shirts". National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) followers, known as supporters of the deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, dressed in red and were widely called "red shirts".
The New Politics Party, was a political party in Thailand founded on 2 June 2009. The NPP was the political party of the People's Alliance for Democracy, with which it shared the same principles and ideas. Ahead of the 2011 general election, the party broke with the PAD movement, and renamed to Thai Social Democratic Party two years later.
Chaturon Chaisang or Chaisaeng is a Thai politician. He was a government member for several terms, serving as Minister of Justice, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Education in the cabinets of Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra.
Weng Tojirakarn is a Thai medical doctor and politician. He is an activist of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), colloquially known as "Red Shirts" and since 2011 a member of parliament for the Pheu Thai Party.
The People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) or People's Committee for Absolute Democracy with the King as Head of State (PCAD) was a reactionary umbrella political pressure group in Thailand. Its aim was to remove the influence of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra from Thai politics by deposing the incumbent Pheu Thai government of Yingluck Shinawatra and creating an unelected "People's Council" to oversee political reforms. The group played a key role in the 2013–14 Thai political crisis and the lead up to the 2014 Thai coup d'état, organising large-scale protests within Bangkok and disrupting voting in the 2014 Thai general election in order to prevent a predicted victory by Pheu Thai.
The history of Thailand since 2001 has been dominated by the politics surrounding the rise and fall from power of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and subsequent conflicts, first between his supporters and opponents, then over the rising military influence in politics. Thaksin and his Thai Rak Thai Party came to power in 2001 and became very popular among the electorate, especially rural voters. Opponents, however, criticized his authoritarian style and accused him of corruption. Thaksin was deposed in a coup d'état in 2006, and Thailand became embroiled in continuing rounds of political crisis involving elections won by Thaksin's supporters, massive anti-government protests by multiple factions, removals of prime ministers and disbanding of political parties by the judiciary, and two military coups.
People Reform Party was a political party in Thailand. The party was established and registered at the Election Commission on 2 March 2018 by Paiboon Nititawan.
Jurin Laksanawisit is a Thai Democrat Party politician. He was former Minister of Public Health and Minister of Education during Abhisit Vejjajiva premiership along with member of the House of Representatives for eleven times.
In Thailand, protests began in early 2020 with demonstrations against the government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. They later expanded to include the unprecedented demands for reform of the Thai monarchy. The protests were initially triggered by the dissolution of the Future Forward Party (FFP) in late February 2020 which was critical of Prayut, the changes to the Thai constitution in 2017, and the country's political landscape that it gave rise to.
This is a description of domestic and international reactions to the 2020 Thai protests.
