Administrative division of Thailand

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Thailand is a fundamentally centralized unitary state . However, decentralization has been pursued since the 1990s and especially since the 1997 constitution . According to the Public Administration Act of 1991, there are two pillars of territorial administration alongside the central government: provincial administration (kan pokkhrong suan phumiphak) and local administration (kan pokkhrong suan thong thin) . The provincial administration is strictly hierarchical and centralized. Its units are mere executive organs of central government. The local government units, on the other hand, have elected leaders and representatives of the people and have a certain degree of autonomy.

Provincial Administration

The provincial administration divides the whole of Thailand - with the exception of the capital Bangkok - nationwide into 76 Changwat (provinces), 878 Amphoe ('districts' or 'counties'), 7,255 Tambon ('sub-districts' or 'municipalities') and 74,963 Muban ('village communities') ) a. These units are subordinate to the Office of Provincial Administration, a subordinate authority of the Interior Ministry . The higher units supervise the next lower unit. The provincial governors and district captains are not elected politicians but appointed officials of the Ministry of Interior. The units of the provincial administration do not have people's representatives.

The provincial administration was created at the end of the 19th century, during the reign of King Rama V (Chulalongkorn), with the so-called thesaphiban system. The previously more autonomous provinces known as Müang , some of which had the character of quasi-independent principalities or city-states, were then placed under the more direct control and supervision of the central government. Groups of several Changwat were initially grouped into large circles ( Monthon ) , each subordinate to a general commissioner of the Ministry of the Interior. These were abolished again after the end of the absolute monarchy in 1932, so that the provinces have since been the highest unit under the central government. The structure of the provincial administration remained largely unaffected by the decentralization initiated in the 1990s.

Provinces

Thailand has been divided into 76 provinces since 2011 ( Bueng Kan was recently added by being separated from the province of Nong Khai ). The capital Bangkok is not a province, but is subject to a special administrative statute (see below). Because it is on a par with the provinces, it is sometimes added to the list as the 77th province.

Each province is headed by a governor (Phu Wa Ratchakan Changwat) who is not elected by the people but is appointed by the central government. He heads the administration of the province, the seat of which is the Sala Changwat ("Provincial Hall"), is responsible for the implementation of the requirements of the central government and coordinates the work of the various ministries and authorities active in the province (e.g. Agriculture, health, education).

Amphoe

The next lower unit is the amphoe, which is translated as district in English, which corresponds to a 'district' or 'district'. The amphoe also serves as an “extended arm” of the central government. Like the provincial governor, the district captain (Nai Amphoe) is an appointed officer of the Ministry of Interior. He, in turn, serves as the coordinator of officials from various central government ministries working in the district. The seat of the district administration (Thi Wa Kan Amphoe) is particularly important for the registration of changes in civil status, such as the state marriage.

Tambon

The tambon are referred to in English as sub-districts , in German they are occasionally compared with communities. Unlike these, however, they do not serve local self-government , but only the execution of tasks of the central government, in particular the maintenance of law and order, public security, the prevention and control of disasters and diseases, population registration and the implementation of government development projects. The head of a Tambons is Kamnan called. He is traditionally chosen from among their own kind by the heads of the Muban, formerly for life, now only for a period of five years. The Kamnan are not officials of the Ministry of the Interior themselves, but are subordinate to the district captain and have to answer to him. For this, they also receive a monthly allowance from the Ministry of the Interior. Tambon and Muban, which belong to the area of ​​a Thesaban unit (i.e. urban or town-like commune, see below) have no Kamnan and no Phu Yai Ban, so they are meaningless as administrative units. So the tambon and muban only play a role in rural areas.

Muban

The smallest unit of the provincial administration are the Muban. This can roughly be translated as “village community”, even if some Muban comprise several smaller villages and some only part of a larger village or a small town. The heads of the Muban (Phu Yai Ban) are directly elected by the residents for a term of five years. However, they are also responsible for implementing the requirements of the central government and are under the supervision of the district captain sent by them. Like the Kamnan, they receive a monthly allowance from the Ministry of the Interior.

Local administration

So-called "sanitary districts" (Sukhaphiban) were created in 1898 as the first units of local administration . Thesaban ('municipalities') were added as further local administrative units in 1934 and provincial councils in 1955. The structure and importance of local administration has changed significantly since 1991 as a result of the decentralization process. Previously, the units of local administration were closely interwoven with the centralized provincial administration and thus exposed to a high degree of control by the central government, namely the Office for Provincial Administration, an authority of the Ministry of the Interior. Since then, the local administrative units have achieved a higher degree of independence and local democracy. The tambon administrative organization was created as a new type, so that there are now small-scale units of local administration with elected representatives and a certain degree of autonomy throughout Thailand. The older "sanitary districts" were abolished.

Special local government units exist in the area of ​​the capital Bangkok and the city of Pattaya .

Provincial Administrative Organizations

Provincial councils were first established in 1955. The current provincial administrative organizations ( Thai องค์การ บริหาร ส่วน จังหวัด , short อบ kurz . , Ongkan Borihan suan Changwat , O.Bo.Cho .; English Provincial Administrative Organization , PAO) have their structure and competencies through the law on the provincial administrative organizations of 1997 got. There are 76 PAOs, each of which is responsible for a province. Unlike these, however, they have a representative body, the council with - depending on the size of the population - 24, 36, 42 or 48 members who are directly elected by the residents of the respective province for four years. The chairman of the PAO Executive Committee is also directly elected by the residents. The two to four deputies are selected by the chairman.

Thesaban

The thesaban be in English language publications as municipalities so municipalities designated. They were first established in 1934. Their organization and responsibilities are based on the Thesaban Act of 1953 as amended in 1999. There are three types of Thesaban units: Thesaban Nakhon ( city ​​municipality or “Großstadt-Kommune”), Thesaban Mueang ( town municipality or “Stadt -Kommune ") and Thesaban Tambon ( sub-district municipality or" small town municipality "; it should be noted that by far not every Thesaban unit corresponds to a city in the actual sense, rural or suburban areas can also form a Thesaban).

The number of thesaban units has increased abruptly with the entry into force of the 1999 law on the upgrade of sanitary districts to thesaban . The local administration type of the "sanitary district" (Sukhaphiban) , the oldest form of local administration in Thailand, has been abolished since 1898 . In 2013 there were a total of 2283 thesaban units in Thailand. What they have in common is that they are each headed by a mayor (Nayok Thesamontri) elected directly by the population and have a council that is also elected by the population for four years.

Thesaban Nakhon

There are 30 thesaban nakhon. You must have at least 50,000 inhabitants. Its executive branch consists of the directly elected mayor and four other members appointed by the mayor. The council consists of 24 members.

Thesaban Mueang

There are 172 Thesaban Mueang. You must have at least 10,000 inhabitants or be the capital of a province. Its executive branch consists of the elected mayor and three other members appointed by the mayor. The council consists of 18 members.

Thesaban Tambon

There are 2081 thesaban tambon, about half of which are upgraded former “sanitary districts” and upgraded TAO. Contrary to what the name suggests, a thesaban tambon is not always congruent with a provincial administration tambon. Its executive branch consists of the elected mayor and two other members appointed by the mayor. The council consists of twelve members.

Tambon management organizations

The tambon administrative organizations ( Thai องค์การ บริหาร ส่วน ตำบล , อบ ต for short , Ongkan Borihan suan Tambon , O.Bo.To .; English Tambon Administrative Organization , TAO) were established in 1994. This was seen as a significant step in the decentralization movement of the 1990s. Their legal basis is the law on the tambon councils and tambon administrative organizations of 1994 in the amended version of 1999. TAOs are set up for all tambon that do not belong to a thesaban, so they mainly exist in rural areas. There are a total of 5492 TAOs. As people's representatives, they have a directly elected by the population council , made up of two members per Muban, therefore, the size varies between six and 36 members. The executive arm of the TAO is headed by a chairman elected from among their equals by the members of the council. Despite their name, the TAO are not necessarily identical in terms of area to a tambon, there are TAOs that are responsible for several tambon, as well as TAOs that only partially cover a tambon, as a thesaban already covers part of the area.

Capital Bangkok

The capital Bangkok has a special status. Your local government authority ( Thai กรุงเทพมหานคร , short ก ทม. , Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (the same as the official Thai name of Bangkok), English Bangkok Metropolitan Administration , BMA) was established in 1975. The law on the administration of the capital Bangkok that came into force that year made Bangkok, which until then consisted of the two provinces of Phra Nakhon (for the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya River) and Thonburi (for the western bank), entirely from the in the rest of Thailand outsourced the existing system of provincial administration. Bangkok is not a province, but an administrative unit of its own . There is no amphoe, tambon or muban in it, but khet ("districts") and khwaeng ("sub-districts"). The administrative authority is headed by a directly elected governor (Phu Wa Ratchakan Krung Thep Maha Nakhon) , who appoints his four deputies and 38 district officers. The also directly elected council with 61 members serves as representative of the people . Each district also has a council with seven members each.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) or Bangkok Metropolis (occasionally used translation of the Thai name Krung Thep Maha Nakhon) should not be confused with the Bangkok Metropolitan Region (Bangkok Metropolitan Region, BMR), in addition to the actual city Bangkok includes five adjacent provinces. However, these are subject to the usual provincial and local administration.

Pattaya city

The Pattaya City Local Government Authority (Mueang Phatthaya) was established in 1978. Its legal framework is currently determined by the law on the city of Pattaya of 1999. The local representative body is the council with 24 members directly elected for four years. The directly elected mayor, who appoints his deputy, acts as the executive.

literature

  • Daniel Arghiros: Democracy, Development and Decentralization in Provincial Thailand. Curzon, Richmond 2001.
  • Fumio Nagai, Nakharin Mektrairat, Tsuruyo Funatsu (Eds.): Local Government in Thailand - Analysis of the Local Administrative Organization Survey. Joint Research Program Series No. 147, Institute of Developing Economies (IDE-JETRO), Chiba (Japan) 2008. In particular, contribution by Fumio Nagai, Tsuruyo Funatsu, Kazuhiro Kagoya: Central-Local Government Relationship in Thailand. (PDF) pp. 1–30.
  • M. Shamsul Haque: Decentralizing Local Governance in Thailand. Contemporary trends and challenges. In: Public Sector Reform in Developing Transitional Countries. Routledge, Abingdon / New York 2013, pp. 93-108. First published in: International Journal of Public Administration. Volume 33, No. 12-13, 2010, pp. 673-688.
  • Achakorn Wongpreedee, Chandra Mahakanjana: Decentralization and Local Governance in Thailand. In: Public Administration in Southeast Asia: Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Macao. CRC Press, Boca Raton FL 2011, pp. 53-77.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Achakorn, Chandra: Decentralization and Local Governance in Thailand. 2011, p. 54.
  2. ↑ a b c Shamsul Haque: Decentralizing Local Governance in Thailand. 2013, p. 95.
  3. ↑ a b c d e Shamsul Haque: Decentralizing Local Governance in Thailand. 2013, p. 99.
  4. ^ A b Shamsul Haque: Decentralizing Local Governance in Thailand. 2013, pp. 99-100.
  5. ↑ a b Nagai, Funatsu, Kagoya: Central-Local Government Relationship in Thailand. In: Local Government in Thailand. 2008, p. 6.
  6. ↑ Nagai, Funatsu, Kagoya: Central-Local Government Relationship in Thailand. 2008, p. 5.
  7. ↑ a b Thesaban Law of 1934 ( Thai พระราชบัญญัติ จัด ระเบียบ เทศบาล พุทธศักราช๒๔๗๖ratchakitcha.soc.go.th PDF).
  8. ↑ Nagai, Funatsu, Kagoya: Central-Local Government Relationship in Thailand. 2008, pp. 7-8.
  9. ↑ Nagai, Funatsu, Kagoya: Central-Local Government Relationship in Thailand. 2008, pp. 8-11.
  10. ↑ a b c d Achakorn, Chandra: Decentralization and Local Governance in Thailand. 2011, p. 57.
  11. ↑ พระราชบัญญัติ องค์การ บริหาร ส่วน จังหวัด พ.ศ. ๒๕๔๐ Phraratchabanyat Ongkan Borihan suan Changwat Phutthasakkarat 2540. Retrieved February 18, 2019 (Thai).
  12. ↑ a b c d Nagai, Funatsu, Kagoya: Central-Local Government Relationship in Thailand. 2008, p. 4.
  13. ↑ a b c d e f g h Shamsul Haque: Decentralizing Local Governance in Thailand. 2013, p. 100.
  14. ↑ Shamsul Haque: Decentralizing Local Governance in Thailand. 2013, p. 101.
  15. ↑ Achakorn, Chandra: Decentralization and Local Governance in Thailand. 2011, pp. 59, 61-63.
  16. ↑ Gerald W. Fry, Gayla S. Nieminen, Harold E. Smith: Historical Dictionary of Thailand. 3. Edition. Scarecrow Press, Lanham MD / Plymouth 2013, p. 56.