The Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( Abrv: MFA; th, กระทรวงการต่างประเทศ, ) is the principal governmental department in charge of

foreign relations A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through mu ...

for

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. The ministry is headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who is also a member of the

Cabinet of Thailand The cabinet of Thailand or, formally, the Council of Ministers of Thailand ( th, คณะรัฐมนตรี; is a body composed of thirty-five of the most senior members of the government of the Kingdom of Thailand. The cabinet is the prim ...

. The minister is appointed by the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

. The ministry is charged with formulating and executing foreign policies for the

Kingdom of Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. The ministry manages and maintains Thai diplomatic missions around the globe.

History

Prior to the creation of the ministry, much of the country's foreign relations were handled by the

absolute monarch Absolute monarchy (or Absolutism (European history), Absolutism as a doctrine) is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute pow ...

s of the day. During the

Kingdom of Ayutthaya The Ayutthaya Kingdom (; th, อยุธยา, , IAST: or , ) was a Siamese kingdom that existed in Southeast Asia from 1351 to 1767, centered around the city of Ayutthaya, in Siam, or present-day Thailand. The Ayutthaya Kingdom is consid ...

foreign relations were handled by the "Krom Phra Khlang" ( th, กรมพระคลัง) (or the Treasury Department). The head of the department was known as "Phra Khlang" ( th, พระคลัง) and occasionally referred to as "Berguelang" or "Barcelon" by foreign authors. A notable ''Phra Khlang Kosathibodi'' during the reign of

King Narai King Narai the Great ( th, สมเด็จพระนารายณ์มหาราช, , ) or Ramathibodi III ( th, รามาธิบดีที่ ๓ ) was the 27th monarch of Ayutthaya Kingdom, the 4th and last monarch of the ...

was

Kosa Lek Kosa Lek ( th, โกษาเหล็ก, 1632 – July 1683) was a Siamese trader, field general and minister. He was the older brother of Kosa Pan and Thao Sri Chulalak, the concubine of King Narai. Background Lek was born to a Siamese wom ...

, who was the elder brother of the famous 17th-century Siamese ambassador to France

Kosa Pan Kosa Pan ( th, ปาน; 1633 – 15 November 1699) was a Siamese diplomat and minister who led the second Siamese embassy to France sent by King Narai in 1686.Rajanubhab, D., 2001, ''Our Wars With the Burmese,'' Bangkok: White Lotus Co. Ltd., ...

. Kosa Pan also became a ''Phra Khlang Kosathibodi'' upon the reign of Petracha. Soon after, a sub-department called "Kromma Tha" ( th, กรมท่า, "Port Department") was created to deal with foreigners. During the Bangkok Period most of these features were retained. For instance, the Chau Phaya-Phraklang in his capacity as Minister of State on behalf of Jessadabodindra negotiated the Siamese-American Treaty of Amity and Commerce of 1833 with Edmund Roberts in his capacity as Minister of the United States on behalf of President Andrew Jackson. In 1840,

King Mongkut Mongkut ( th, มงกุฏ; 18 October 18041 October 1868) was the fourth monarch of Siam (Thailand) under the House of Chakri, titled Rama IV. He ruled from 1851 to 1868. His full title in Thai was ''Phra Bat Somdet Phra Menthora Ramathibo ...

, the next king, founded the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Siam, which was administered directly by the king. The responsibilities and roles of the old "Krom" were shifted to this ministry. Chao Phraya Bhanuwong became the first Foreign Minister of Siam in 1871, appointed by

King Chulalongkorn Chulalongkorn ( th, จุฬาลงกรณ์, 20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, titled Rama V. He was known to the Siamese of his time as ''Phra Phuttha Chao Luang'' (พร� ...

. In 1881 Prince Devavongse Varoprakarn was appointed to replace him. Known today as the "father of Thai diplomacy" he reorganized and modernized the ministry to meet 19th century standards. The ministry was then permanently established at Saranrom Palace, east of the Grand Palace. The ministry was divided into seven divisions: *Senabodi Division (Ministerial Division) *Under-Secretary Division *Translation Division *Reception Division *Accounts Division *Filing Division *Diplomatic Division *Consular Division

Foreign affairs advisers

From 1892 to 1924, the Siamese government retained the professional legal services of

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

s skilled in

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

. *

Gustave Rolin-Jaequemyns Gustave Henri Ange Hippolyte Rolin-Jaequemyns (31 January 1835 – 9 January 1902) was a Belgian lawyer, diplomat and Minister of the Interior (1878–1884) as a member of the Unitarian Liberal Party. Together with the Swiss jurist Gustave Moyni ...

, an international legal scholar, served as Adviser-General from 1892 to 1902. * Edward Strobel, a Harvard Law School Bemis Professor of International Law, served as American Adviser-General from 1906 until his death in 1908. He was followed by Harvard Law Professors

Jens Westengard Jens Iverson Westengard (September 15, 1871 – September 17, 1918) was a Danish American legal scholar and diplomat. He was a faculty member at Harvard Law School, first assistant professor (1899–1903), later Bemis Professor of International ...

, Francis B. Sayre and Eldon James.

Reorganization

After the Revolution of 1932, the ministry came under civilian control and the minister was made a member of the constitutional government of Siam. The first minister under this new system was Phraya Sri Visarn Vacha. ''See more at:

Foreign relations of Thailand The foreign relations of Thailand are handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand. Thailand participates fully in international and regional organizations. It has developed close ties with other ASEAN members—Indonesia, Malaysia, ...

Operations

The MFA budget for FY2019 is 9,197.3 million

baht The baht (; th, บาท, ; sign: ฿; code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand. SWIFT ranked the Thai baht as the 10th-m ...

Administration

*Office of the Minister *Office of the Permanent Secretary

Functional departments

*Department of Consular Affairs *Department of Protocol *Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA) *Department of International Economic Affairs *Department of Treaties and Legal Affairs *Department of Information *Department of International Organizations

Regional departments

*Department of European Affairs *Department of American and South Pacific Affairs *Department of ASEAN Affairs (for international undertakings under the framework of

ASEAN ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...

; while bilateral relations between Thailand and each ASEAN member is under the East Asian Affairs Department) *Department of East Asian Affairs *Department of South Asian, Middle East and African Affairs

List of ministers

This is a list of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Thailand: *1875–1885: Chao Phraya Panuwongse Maha Kosathibodi *1885–1923: Prince

Devawongse Varopakarn Devan Udayawongse, the Prince Devawongse Varoprakar ( th, สมเด็จพระเจ้าบรมวงศ์เธอ พระองค์เจ้าเทวัญอุไทยวงศ์ กรมพระยาเทวะวง ...

*1924–1932: Prince Traidos Prabandh *1932–1933: Phraya Srivisaravaja *1933–1934: Phraya Abhibanrajamaitri *1934–1935: Phraya Phaholphonphayuhasena *1935–1936: Phraya Srisena *1936–1938:

Pridi Banomyong Pridi Banomyong ( th, ปรีดี พนมยงค์, , ; 11 May 1900 – 2 May 1983), also known by his noble title Luang Praditmanutham ( th, หลวงประดิษฐ์มนูธรรม) was a Thai politician and professo ...

*1938–1939: Chao Phya Sridharmadhibes *1939–1941:

Plaek Pibulsongkram Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram ( th, แปลก พิบูลสงคราม ; alternatively transcribed as ''Pibulsongkram'' or ''Pibulsonggram''; 14 July 1897 – 11 June 1964), locally known as Marshal P. ( th, จอมพล � ...

*1941:

Direk Jayanama Direk Jayanama (, ; January 18, 1905 – May 1, 1967) was a Thai diplomat and politician. He was one of the civilian Promoters of the Siamese Revolution of 1932 that changed the country's form of government from absolute to constitutional mo ...

*1941–1942:

*1942–1943:

Luang Wichitwathakan Major-General Luang Wichitwathakan (also known as just Wichit Wichitwathakan) ( Thai หลวงวิจิตรวาทการ, วิจิตร วิจิตรวาทการ; Chinese 金良) (11 August 189831 March 1962) was a ...

*1943–1944:

*1944–1945: Srisena Sampatisiri *1945–1946:

Seni Pramoj Mom Rajawongse Seni Pramoj ( th, หม่อมราชวงศ์เสนีย์ ปราโมช, , ; 26 May 190528 July 1997) was three times the Prime Minister of Thailand, a politician in the Democrat Party, lawyer, diplomat and pr ...

*1946–1947:

*1947:

Thawan Thamrongnawasawat Thawan Thamrongnawasawat (also spelt ''Thawal Thamrongnavaswadhi'' or ''Thawal Thamrongnavasawat''; th, ถวัลย์ ธำรงนาวาสวัสดิ์, ; ), born Thawan Tharisawat (, ; 21 November 1901 – 3 December 1988), w ...

*1947: Arthakitti Banomyong *1947–1948: Phraya Srivisaravaja *1948–1949: Priditheppong Devakul *1949:

*1949–1950:

Pote Sarasin Pote Sarasin ( th, พจน์ สารสิน, , ; 25 March 1905 – 28 September 2000) was the 9th Prime Minister of Thailand from the influential Sarasin family. He served as foreign minister from 1949 to 1950 and then served as ambass ...

*1950–1952: Warakan Bancha *1952–1958: Prince

Wan Waithayakon Wan Waithayakon (full title: His Royal Highness Prince Vanna Vaidhayakara, the Prince Naradhip Bongsprabandh), known in the West as ''Wan Waithayakon'' (1891–1976), was a Thai royal prince and diplomat. He was President of the Eleventh Session ...

*1959–1971:

Thanat Khoman Thanat Khoman (also Thanad; th, ถนัด คอมันตร์; , 9 May 1914 – 3 March 2016) was a Thai diplomat and politician. He was foreign minister from 1959 to 1971, leader of the Democrat Party (Thailand), Democrat Party from 197 ...

*1971–1973:

Thanom Kittikachorn Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn ( th, ถนอม กิตติขจร, ; 11 August 1911 – 16 June 2004) was the leader of Thailand from 1963 to 1973, during which he staged a self-coup, until public protests which exploded into viole ...

*1973–1975: Charunphan Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya *1975:

Bhichai Rattakul Bhichai Rattakul ( th, พิชัย รัตตกุล, , ; 16 September 1924 – 28 February 2022) was a Thai politician who served as the Deputy Prime Minister from 1983 to 1990 and 1997 to 2000, Speaker of the House of Representatives, ...

*1975–1976:

Chatichai Choonhavan Chatichai Choonhavan ( th, ชาติชาย ชุณหะวัณ, , ; 5 April 1920 – 6 May 1998) was a Thai army officer, diplomat and politician. From 1986 to 1991, he was the chairman of the Thai Nation Party and served as the Prim ...

*1976:

*1976–1980: Upadit Pachariyangkun *1980–1990:

Siddhi Savetsila Siddhi Savetsila ( th, สิทธิ เศวตศิลา, , , 7 January 1919 – 5 December 2015) was a Thai air force officer and politician. After finishing his military career with the rank of air chief marshal, he served as the foreig ...

*1990:

Subin Pinkayan Subin may refer to: *Subin (Ghana parliament constituency) *Šubin, village in the municipality of Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina *Su-bin, Korean unisex given name ** Subin (singer), member of the South Korean girl group Dal Shabet See also

...

*1990–1991: Arthit Ourairat *1991–1992:

Arsa Sarasin Arsa Sarasin ( th, อาสา สารสิน; born 26 May 1937) is a Thai diplomat and businessman who served as Principal Private Secretary to King Bhumibol Adulyadej until he retired in 2012. Early life and education Arsa Sarasin was ...

*1992: Pongpol Adireksarn *1992:

*1992–1994: Prasong Soonsiri *1994–1995:

Thaksin Shinawatra Thaksin Shinawatra ( th, ทักษิณ ชินวัตร; ; ; Chinese: 丘達新; cnr, Taksin Šinavatra; born 26 July 1949), is a Thai businessman, politician and visiting professor. He served in the Thai Police from 1973 to 1987, a ...

*1995:

Krasae Chanawongse Krasae Chanawongse ( th, กระแส ชนะวงศ์, , born 1 March 1934) is a Thailand, Thai physician, professor of medicine, and politician. He is the recipient of the 1973 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership. In 1995, he s ...

*1995–1996:

Kasem S. Kasemsri Kasem may refer to: Language * Kasem language, Gur language spoken in Burkina Faso and Ghana People * Casey Kasem (1932–2014), American radio personality and voice actor * Kazi Abul Kasem (1913–2003), Bengali painter and cartoonist * Kasim, ...

*1996: Amnuay Viravan *1996–1997: Prachuab Chaiyasan *1997–2001:

Surin Pitsuwan Surin Abdul Halim bin Ismail Pitsuwan ( th, สุรินทร์ พิศสุวรรณ; Jawi: سورين عبدالحاليم بن اسماعيل ڤيتسووان; October 28, 1949 – November 30, 2017) was a Thai diplomat and politici ...

*2001–2005: Surakiart Sathirathai *2005–2006:

Kantathi Suphamongkhon Kantathi Suphamongkhon ( Thai กันตธีร์ ศุภมงคล, born 3 April 1952), a Thai diplomat, politician, university professor and a real estate developer. He served as the 39th minister of foreign affairs of Thailand from 1 ...

*2006–2008:

Nitya Pibulsonggram Nitya Pibulsonggram ( th, นิตย์ พิบูลสงคราม, , June 30, 1941 – May 24, 2014) was a Thai career diplomat and politician. Careers and education After receiving his B.A. in government from Dartmouth College and his ...

*2008:

Noppadon Pattama Noppadon Pattama (born April 23, 1961), Thai politician, became Foreign Minister of Thailand on 6 February 2008, in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej. He is a member of Samak's People's Power Party. He is a former legal adviser t ...

*2008: Tej Bunnag *2008:

Saroj Chavanaviraj Saroj is a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name: *Saroj Raj Choudhury, Indian environmentalist, wildlife conservationist, writer *Saroj Dey (1921–1997), Bengali film director * Saroj Dubey (born 1938), Indian ...

*2008:

Sompong Amornwiwat Sompong Amornvivat ( th, สมพงษ์ อมรวิวัฒน์; born 3 July 1941) is a Thai politician for the Pheu Thai Party. Early life and education Sompong Amornvivat was born on 3 July 1941. He is the younger brother of Police ...

*2008–2011:

Kasit Piromya Kasit Piromya ( th, กษิต ภิรมย์; ; born 15 December 1944 in Thonburi) is a Thai diplomat, Democrat Party politician, and former People's Alliance for Democracy ("Yellow Shirts") activist. He was Foreign Minister of Thailand ...

*2011–2014: Surapong Tovichakchaikul *2014–2015:

Thanasak Patimaprakorn Thanasak Patimaprakorn ( th, ธนะศักดิ์ ปฏิมาประกร; born 9 November 1953) is a Thai military officer who formerly served as its deputy prime minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was appointed by prim ...

*2015–present:

Don Pramudwinai Don Pramudwinai ( th, ดอน ปรมัตถ์วินัย, , ; born 25 January 1950) is a Thai diplomat serving as foreign minister of Thailand (2020). Early life and education Don attended Wat Suthiwararam and Suankularb Wittayala ...

References

External links

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Thai)Ministry of Foreign Affairs (English)
{{authority control

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and ...

Foreign relations of Thailand 1840 establishments in Siam