List of Cabinet Ministries of Thailand

The Cabinet Ministries of Thailand (Thai: กระทรวง: Krasuang) are the government agencies compromising the executive branch of the Government of Thailand. Each ministry is headed by a Minister of State (Thai: รัฐมนตรีว่าการกระทรวง, RTGS: Ratthamontri Wa Kan Krasuang) and, depending on the Prime Minister, several Deputy Ministers (Thai: รัฐมนตรีช่วยว่าการกระทรวง) . The combined heads of these agencies form the Cabinet of Thailand. Under the most recent constitution, there are 35 ministries. The combined employees of these departments make up the Civil Service of Thailand.

Ministries

The present structure of the Royal Thai Government has been the same since the 2002 Restructuring of Government Agencies Act. The Cabinet comprises 20 Ministries, as follows:

History

During the Rattanakosin Period, the Kingdom's administration was similar to those during the Ayutthaya Period. There were two Chief Ministers (Thai: อัครมหาเสนาบดี: Akkharamahasenabodi): the first running military affairs or "Samuhakalahom" (Thai: สมุหกลาโหม) and the second "Samuhanayok" (Thai: สมุหนายก) for civilian affairs. The Civilian Ministry is divided further into four "Kroms" (Thai: กรม), headed by a "Senabodi" (Thai: เสนาบดี) or Permanent Secretary. This type of administration was called the "Chatusadom" (Thai: จตุสดมภ์) :

King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), who had received a European education and traveled widely, decided to reform the administration of the state. In 1875, he issued a royal decree to bring about this reform, dividing and creating many departments, and thereby preventing the archaic system from collapsing.

Rama V reforms

The administration reforms of Chulalongkorn created six ministries (Thai: กระทรวง: Krasuang), each headed by a Minister of State or (Thai: รัฐมนตรี, RTGS: Ratthamontri):

A further four were soon added:

By 1900 the entire structure was formed. The ten ministries became the center of Siamese government and rule. After the 1932 Revolution, most of the Ministries were retained by the Khana Ratsadon, however from then on the Ministers were chosen by the Prime Minister and not the King.

See also

• Cabinet of Thailand
• Independent agencies of the Thai government
• Politics of Thailand
• Government of Thailand
• Prime Minister of Thailand

References

• Reshaping Thailand through Bureaucratic Reform and Development
• The History of Thailand's Administration Website of the Department of Provincial Administration – DOPA (in English)

External links

• Official Webpage
• Thai Government – Cabinet Announcement