1-888-691-4584
Medical Tourism - Healthbase - World

1-617-418-3436

Login

Home

Destinations

Thailand

General Information About Thailand

Article Index
General Information About Thailand
History
Geography
Economy
Government and Politics
Culture
Religion
Food
Tourism

Page 5 of 9

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Since the overthrow of the absolute monarchy in 1932, Thailand has had 17 constitutions and charters. Throughout this time, the form of government has ranged from military dictatorship to electoral democracy, but all governments have acknowledged a hereditary monarch as the head of state.

The 1997 Constitution was the first constitution to be drafted by popularly-elected Constitutional Drafting Assembly, and was popularly called the "People's Constitution". The January 2001 general election was the first elections under the 1997 Constitution. The subsequent government was the first in Thai history to complete a 4-year term.

A military junta overthrew the elected government of Thaksin Shinawatra (the elected prime minister after 2005 general election) on 19 September 2006. The junta abrogated the constitution, dissolved Parliament and the Constitutional Court, and appointed one of the King's Privy Councillors, General Surayud Chulanont, as Prime Minister. The junta later wrote a highly abbreviated interim constitution and appointed a panel to draft a permanent constitution. The junta also appointed a 250-member legislature, called by some critics a "chamber of generals" and others claimed that it lacks representatives from the poor majority. In this interim constitution draft, the head of the junta was allowed to remove the Prime Minister at any time. The legislature was not allowed to hold a vote of confidence against the Cabinet and the public was not allowed to file comments on bills. This interim constitution was later surpassed by the permanent constitution on 24 August 2007.

Martial law was partially revoked in January 2007. The junta continues to censor the media and was accused of several other human rights violations.

The ban on political activities was lifted in July 2007, following the May 30 dissolution of the Thai Rak Thai party. The new constitution has been approved by a referendum on August 19, which will lead to a return to democratic elections on December 23, 2007.

Thailand remains an active member of the regional Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

<< Prev - Next >>

< Prev

[ Back ]

Click here to register and get quote

Trusted Source for Medical Tourism and Dental Tourism

Healthbase is the trusted source for global medical choices, connecting patients to leading healthcare facilities overseas. Healthbase's state-of-the-art, easy to use, information rich web-based system helps you research and arrange your medical care including necessary travel and accommodation, all at one place. We arrange first class services for patients at major internationally accredited hospitals in Singapore, Thailand, India, Mexico, Panama, Turkey, Costa Rica, Hungary and expanding to Argentina, Brazil and Malaysia. The cost of surgical care at our ever growing network of affiliated institutions is typically a fraction of the cost of care in the U.S. with equal or superior outcomes.
Healthbase's Dental Tourism provides a wide range of dental procedures through its partner dental offices and hospitals network in Mexico, Panama, Thailand, Singapore and India.
Over two hundred medical, dental and cosmetic procedures are available in various categories: Orthopedic procedures such as hip replacement, Birmingham hip resurfacing, artificial knee replacement, knee surgery, cosmetic procedures such as breast augmentation, face lift, rhinoplasty (nose surgery), liposuction, dental procedures such as bridges, implants, crowns, and procedures in categories such as cardiac, vascular, spinal, obesity, eye, LASIK, urology, general surgery, plastic surgery, laparoscopic surgery, weight-loss surgery, wellness and much more. The savings are up to 80% from typical USA prices.

Medical Tourism is the act of traveling abroad to receive medical, dental and cosmetic care. Medical Tourism is also called as Medical Travel, Health Tourism, Health Travel and Medical Value Travel. Significantly lower costs for best practice care is usually the primary motivation although some medical tourists go abroad for immediate availability of procedures and unavailable treatments. Patients frequently take advantage of the opportunity to vacation and tour inexpensively in the country they are visiting.
Note: All medical procedure information presented here has been obtained from publicly available medical resources and is here for reference purposes only. Healthbase does not claim to be a medical professional and does not provide any advice on any issues relating to medical treatment.

Main Menu

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS