Rangsit Prayurasakdi

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Prince Rangsit Prayurasakdi (1946)

Prince Rangsit Prayurasakdi , Prince of Chai Nat ( Thai : สมเด็จ พระเจ้า บรม วงศ์ เธอ พระองค์เจ้า รังสิต ประยูร ศักดิ์ กรม พระยา ชัยนาท น เร น ทร , RTGS : Somdet Phra Phrachao Borommawongthoe-ongchao Rangsit Prayurasak Kromphraya Chai Nat Narenthon, * 12. November 1885 in Bangkok ; † March 7, 1951 ibid) was a member of the Thai royal family . He was a son of King Rama V (Chulalongkorn). Rangsit served as a civil servant and was Prince Regent for the young King Bhumibol Adulyadej from 1946 to 1950 .

The young years in Germany

He was the 52nd of a total of 77 children of his father King Rama V (Chulalongkorn) of Siam and the first child of his mother Manda Nueng , the 22nd of around 50 concubines of his father, a Chao Chom , i.e. a non-royal wife. From this marriage also came Rangsit's sister Yaovabhabongsa Sanidh (1884-1934), who remained unmarried as a princess.

After the early death of his mother, Rangsit and three other princes were adopted by Queen Savang Vadhana . With their son Prince Mahidol Adulyadej he had a close friendship during his childhood, which later played a central political role in Mahidol's career and that of his son Bhumibol Adulyadej .

The opening of Siam to western countries towards the end of the 19th century had made Rangsit's father Chulalongkorn a cosmopolitan and very successful foreign politician who was looking for close ties to other states in order to develop his own country. He was also the first King of Siam to have direct contact with the European royal houses and to travel to several European countries (including England, France, Russia and Germany) for nine months in 1897.

Presumably, these contacts with Germany led to Rangsit receiving a school education in Germany. For a while he was a student at Heidelberg College in Heidelberg and then went to Halberstadt (Prussian province of Saxony ) to the Martineum Gymnasium , where he graduated from high school in 1905.

Rangsit developed an interest in medicine early on, but his father insisted on a legal education. The long-standing contacts between Siam and Heidelberg and further visits by members of the Thai royal family in the university town established Rangsit's enrollment in the winter semester 1905/1906 at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg , initially in the subject of cameralistics (political economy). One of his fellow students at the time was Prince Alfons of Bourbon , Infante of Spain. Between winter 1905 and summer 1910 he lived as a student in the house of the government councilor Mayer at Gaisbergstrasse 21, south of the old town; from 1910 to 1913 his landlords were the Kraus family in Untere Neckarstrasse. 34.

In 1907 the father made a second trip to Europe. He took the opportunity and also visited Rangsit in Heidelberg from June 4 to 6, 1907.

In the summer of 1908, Rangsit enrolled in philosophy . In doing so, he proved his diverse interests, which, in addition to the duties imposed on him, also reflect the individual development of the person. From this a friendship grew around 1911 with the psychiatrist Arthur Kronfeld , who completed his studies in Heidelberg and worked there briefly and intensively on Expressionism . In his textbook on character studies , Kronfeld expressly thanks Prince Rangsit for the “ valuable support and suggestions ” during the introduction to the wisdom of the East .

Rangsit also had a great interest in education and was an enthusiastic amateur photographer, including in 1912 in the "General German Photographic Exhibition" initiated by Heidelberg photographer Ernst Gottmann .

In this autonomous phase of life he also met Elisabeth Scharnberger (1892–1973) from Heidelberg, a relative of the painter Eugen Seelos , whom he married on August 12, 1912 (other sources cite August 28, 1912). With her he had three children, the two sons Piyarangsit Rangsit (1913-1990) and Sanidh Prayurasakdi Rangsit (born 1917) and a daughter Charulaksana Kalyani (born 1924). Through the marriage, Elisabeth received the official title of Mom Scharnberger.

Although the family went to Thailand some time later, Rangsit still frequently visited Germany and Heidelberg until 1938. The friendship with Eugen Seelos often led the family to Neusatz in Mittelbaden on these visits .

Career in Siam

After returning to his homeland, Prince Rangsit initially devoted himself to building up the Thai university system. His knowledge of the German higher education system made him one of the main pillars of the development of the education system in his home country. Many of the main features of the German universities were adopted by him.

But when in 1920 an inspection by the American Rockefeller Foundation revealed major deficiencies in health education in Thailand, it was Rangsit who went to Manila ( Philippines ) to learn about the establishment and organization of appropriate medical education. The medical training program initiated by his half-brother Prince Mahidol Adulyadej was supported by the Rockefeller Foundation between 1922 and 1924.

Rangsit was so in some ways his interest in medicine to revive and worked in the following years as director of the Royal School of Medicine (Royal Medical School) . He later became the first general director of the University Affairs Department in the Thai Ministry of Education .

In 1931 the incumbent King Prajadhipok (Rama VII) set up a planning committee for the targeted further development of the university. This is where the call came from Prince Rangit Chairman (Chairman) of the Planning Committee (Committee on Planning and Development) of Chulalongkorn University . This first university in Thailand had developed from the continuing education facilities of the Royal Medical School and King Chulalongkorn's Civil Service College for public administration, which - largely free of charge - trained civil servants and doctors for state administration.

In this post, Rangsit prepared some important reports on the development of the university. His ideas included different alternatives to the organization and administration of the university, to income and expenditure as well as expected problems. He encouraged the establishment of new courses in agriculture, economics, veterinary medicine, law, forestry, mining, mineralogy, archeology, visual arts and music.

Prince Rangsit's mausoleum in the royal cemetery at Wat Ratchabophit

After the absolute monarchy in Thailand ended with a revolution in 1932 and the king had to abdicate in the wake of political disputes over the new constitution in 1935, members of the royal family were initially largely excluded from political functions and higher offices. This separation from the political scene ended again after the Second World War.

On June 9, 1946, King Ananda Mahidol ( Rama VIII ) died at the age of only 21 under mysterious circumstances. Prince Bhumibol, the son of Rangsit's childhood friend, Prince Mahidol, became a candidate for the royal throne. Since Prince Bhumibol wanted to finish his education first, his uncle Prince Rangsit took over the state business as Prince Regent from June 16, 1946 and was President of the Supreme Council of State from 1947 . Gradually he introduced his nephew to the royal office and organized the coronation ceremony on May 5, 1950, with which Prince Bhumibol Adulyadej was crowned the ninth king of the Chakri dynasty (Rama IX) . Not even a year later, Prince Rangsit died on March 7, 1951 at the age of 65.

literature

Krischke, Roland and Frieder Hepp: Kurt Wildhagen 1871-1949 . The sage from Heidelberg. HVA, Heidelberg 1997 p. 214, especially p. 217

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Rangsit Prayurasakdi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rangsit from Chai Nat
BRIEF DESCRIPTION thai prince, prince regent of Siam
DATE OF BIRTH November 12, 1885
PLACE OF BIRTH Bangkok
DATE OF DEATH March 7, 1951
Place of death Bangkok