r House of
Representatives (Satha Poothan)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Sarn Dika)

Leaders:
Chief of State--King BHUMIBOL ADULYADEJ (since 9 June 1946);
Heir Apparent Crown Prince VAJIRALONGKORN (born 28 July 1952);

Head of Government Prime Minister Maj. Gen. CHATCHAI CHUNHAWAN
(since 9 August 1988); Deputy Prime Minister CHUAN LIKPHAI

Political parties and leaders: Democrat Party (DP), Social Action
Party (SAP), Thai Nation Party (TNP), People's Party (Ratsadon),
People's Party (Prachachon), Thai Citizens Party (TCP),
United Democracy Party, Solidarity Party, Thai People's Party,
Mass Party, Force of Truth Party (Phalang Dharma)

Suffrage: universal at age 21

Elections:
House of Representatives--last held 24 July 1988 (next to be held
within 90 days of July 1992);
results--TNP 27%, SAP 15%, DP 13%, TCP 9%, others 36%;
seats--(357 total) TNP 96, Solidarity 62, SAP 54, DP 48, TCP 31,
People's Party (Ratsadon) 21, People's Party (Prachachon) 17,
Force of Truth Party (Phalang Dharma) 14, United Democracy Party 5,
Mass Party 5, others 4

Communists: illegal Communist party has 500 to 1,000 members (est.);
armed Communist insurgents throughout Thailand total 300 to 500 (est.)

Member of: ADB, ANRPC, ASEAN, ASPAC, Association of Tin Producing
Countries, CCC, Colombo Plan, GATT, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA,
IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INRO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITC, ITU,
UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador VITTHYA VEJJAJIVA; Embassy at
2300 Kalorama Road NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 483-7200;
there are Thai Consulates General in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York;
US--Ambassador Daniel O'DONAHUE; Embassy at 95 Wireless Road, Bangkok
(mailing address is APO San Francisco 96346); telephone p66o (2) 252-5040; there
is a US Consulate General in Chiang Mai and Consulates in Songkhla and Udorn

Flag: five horizontal bands of red (top), white, blue (double width),
white, and red

- Economy
Overview: Thailand, one of the more advanced developing countries
in Asia, enjoyed its second straight exceptionally prosperous year in
1989. Real output again rose about 11%. The increasingly sophisticated
manufacturing sector benefited from export-oriented investment, and
agriculture grew by 4.0% because of improved weather. The trade deficit
of $5.2 billion was more than offset by earnings from tourism
($3.9 billion), remittances, and net capital inflo