King Bhumibol of Thailand dies 88
.The longstanding rule has been a stable force in a country plagued by political instability
King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, the oldest monarch in the world and a unifying leader through political turmoil for decades, died after years of declining health, the palace said Friday.
A 88-year-old king was widely revered and loved by many in Thailand, currently a constitutional monarchy governed by a military junta. Because he has ruled for over 70 years, the vast majority of Thai people never lived under the domination of another monarch.
In a country that has suffered almost constant political instability, more than a dozen military coups in recent history, the king had been the unifying force most important. The junta took power in the last shot in 2014, but its authority is removed from the monarchy.
Bhumibol was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1927, while his father was studying public health at Harvard. The family returned to Thailand, a year later, and later he was educated in Switzerland, with his brother and sister, until the end of World War II.
Bhumibol ascended the throne in 1946 came after his elder brother was found shot in the head in bed palace in a case that remains shrouded in mystery.
The power and prestige of the monarchy in Thailand has expanded in many ways during the reign of Bhumibol, and sometimes he sought to protect civilians who fought against the army in an effort to protect the country against violence but also supported the leaders shots.
In 1992, he mediated between the leader of a military coup and the opposition in an effort to avoid a civil war. The military leader fell and elections were held to a civilian government headed.
But observers say that an alliance formed in recent years between the king and the military junta in power since 2014 coup. We do not know when the election will take place again.
Acts of treason difficult country means discussion of who will succeed the king is banned in Thailand. But his presumed heir is his son, Prince Vajiralongkorn heir. His daughter, Princess Sirindhorn, is widely admired for his charity work on behalf of the poor, but women are not allowed to take the throne of Thailand in accordance with the law of the palace.
When members of the royal family died in previous years, the country mourned for months, with stale alcohol sales, the flag at half-mast and all dressed in black countries. Bhumibol's death is no different, as the Prime Minister of Thailand Chan-ocha Prayuth said a one-year mourning period for government officials Thursday night, according to the AP.
Bhumibol was hospitalized for much of the last decade, but his health seemed to fall faster this year. The king's health was one of the best kept secrets of the palace, but in a series of unusual statements, palace officials let on what he was suffering from kidney failure and underwent a hemodialysis treatment, leaving its unstable state.
For the last week, hundreds of people dressed in baby pink - the color associated with the king good health Thais - staged a vigil to Siriraj hospital in Bangkok, praying for the king's health. Others visited Buddhist temples and Grand Palace in Bangkok. The king had not come out in public since the beginning of this year.
Bhumibol was known for his common touch at the beginning of his reign, when he traveled to villages across the country. In strongly Buddhist Thailand, it was also revered for his piety and fidelity to religious education.
It is difficult to say exactly how much the king is revered because the laws of the country of treason prohibit public criticism of the monarchy. Thais should be put before kneeling king and his portrait hangs high above many government buildings, and he had an almost divine presence in the country, with titles like "Chao Chiwit" or "Lord of Life . "
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