Contents

Bangkok Metropolitan Administration

Local government in Thailand

Bangkok Metropolitan Administration กรุงเทพมหานคร
Seal of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration
Flag of Bangkok
Type
Type	Special local authority organisation ofBangkok
Term limits	Governor limited to 2 consecutive terms, third term must be 4 years after second term
History
Founded	13 December 1972
Preceded by	Bangkok Municipality
Leadership
Executive
Governor of Bangkok	Chadchart Sittipunt, Independent Since 22 May 2022
Deputy Governors of Bangkok	Chakkapan Phewngam Wisanu Subsompon Tavida Kamolvej Sanon Wangsrangboon Since 1 June 2022
Permanent Secretary for BMA	Wantanee Wattana, M.D.
Legislative
Chair	Wirat Minchaiyanan, Pheu Thai Since 6 June 2022
First Deputy Chair	Chayada Wiphatphumiprathet, Pheu Thai Since 6 June 2022
Second Deputy Chair	Amnat Panphueak, Move Forward Since 6 June 2022
Structure
Seats	1 Governor and 50 Councillors
Length of term	Four years
Elections
Governor of Bangkok voting system	First past the post, whole of Bangkok
Bangkok Metropolitan Council voting system	First past the post, each district
Last Governor of Bangkok election	May 2022
Last Bangkok Metropolitan Council election	May 2022
Next Governor of Bangkok election	No later than 2026
Next Bangkok Metropolitan Council election	No later than 2026
Meeting place
Airawat Patthana Building Second Bangkok City Hall Din Daeng, Bangkok
Website
www.bangkok.go.th

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (Thai: กรุงเทพมหานคร; RTGS: Krung Thep Maha Nakhon) (BMA) is the local government of Bangkok (also called Krung Thep Maha Nakhon in Thai), which includes the capital of the Kingdom of Thailand. The government is composed of two branches: the executive (or the Governor of Bangkok) and the legislative (or Bangkok Metropolitan Council). The administration's roles are to formulate and implement policies to manage Bangkok. Its purview includes transport services, urban planning, waste management, housing, roads and highways, security services, and the environment.^[1]

According to the Thailand Future Foundation, Bangkok employs a workforce of 97,000, including 3,200 municipal officers in Bangkok city, 200 in the city Law Enforcement Department, and 3,000 in district offices.^[2][3]

Departments[edit]

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BMA has 65 departments in total, 50 of which are departments respective to the 50 districts of Bangkok. The rest consist of: Strategy and Planning Department, Finance Department, Bureau of the Budget, Public Works Department, Drainage and Sewerage Department, Department of Social Development, Department of Environment, Culture, Sports and Tourism Department, Health Department, Bangkok Educational Office, Traffic and Transport Department, Department of Planning and Urban Development, Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation and the Medical Services Department.

Department of Law Enforcement[edit]

City Law Enforcement Department is the primary unit for overseeing security and orderliness of Bangkok with more than 3,000 quality personnel.^[4] Which has 5 important tasks which are to organize the city, Security, Traffic supervision, Tourism Administration and other special missions. Responsible for overseeing, investigating, arresting, prosecuting and enforcing Bangkok Metropolis regulations and other laws within the jurisdiction of Bangkok including operations beyond the authority of the district office or in the case of serious danger to most people.

Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation[edit]

The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation operates the city's fire and rescue services. The Bangkok City Council reported in February 2018 that, of Bangkok's 874 fire trucks, only 88 were in "good" condition. Another 340 were rated "only just usable", 232 were "dilapidated", and 225 were parked permanently. Firefighting boats were found to be in roughly the same shape: three of 31 vessels were ranked in "good" condition and 21 were out of service and permanently docked. The BMA's firefighting unit has not been allocated a vehicle maintenance budget for nearly 10 years.^[5] The BMA employs 1,800 firefighters as of 2018^[update].^[6]

Department of Medical Services[edit]

The Department of Medical Services operates 11 hospitals and is headquartered at BMA General Hospital (Klang Hospital)inPom Prap Sattru Phai District. Other hospitals include Taksin Hospital, Charoenkrung Pracharak Hospital, Sirindhorn Hospital, Lat Krabang Hospital, Luang Pho Taweesak Hospital, Wetchakarunrasm Hospital, Ratchaphiphat Hospital, Khlong Sam Wa Hospital, Bang Na Hospital and the Bang Khun Thian Geriatric Hospital. The department also operates the Erawan Medical Centre for emergency medical services.

Department of Planning and Urban Development[edit]

The Department of Planning and Urban Development are divided to Secretarial Office, Town Planning Office, Urban Development and Renewal Office, Geo-Informatics Office, Town Planning Control Division, Policy and Planning Division. The department has a duty to planning of the city including planning for the development of specific areas, planning for conservation Rehabilitation and planning for urban development and also an agency for controlling, promoting and inspecting the use of land and buildings.^[7]

Navamindradhiraj University[edit]

BMA autonomously manages Navamindradhiraj University, of which the Faculty of Medicine Vajira Hospital and Kuakarun Faculty of Nursing are part.

Krungthep Thanakom[edit]

Krungthep Thanakom Company Limited is the BMA's holding company for public investment projects such as the concession for the BTS Skytrain and a 20 billion baht underground cable project.^[8][9]

Budget[edit]

Bangkok's FY2024 budget totals ฿90,570,138,630. Most of the budget goes to civil construction and maintenance projects.

Governor of Bangkok[edit]

Governor of Bangkok ผู้ว่าราชการ กรุงเทพมหานคร
Seal of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration
Incumbent Chadchart Sittipunt since 22 May 2022
Member of	Bangkok Metropolitan Administration
Reports to	Minister of Interior
Residence	Bangkok City Hall
Appointer	Direct election
Term length	Four years, renewable once consecutively
Inaugural holder	Chamnan Yaovabun
Formation	1 January 1973
Deputy	Deputy Governor
Salary	฿113,560 per month
Website	http://www.bangkok.go.th/

The Governor of Bangkok (Thai: ผู้ว่าราชการกรุงเทพมหานคร, RTGS: phu wa ratchakan krung thep maha nakhon) is the head of the local governmentofBangkok. The governor is also the chief executive of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA). The governor is elected to a renewable term of four years, currently it is one of the two directly elected executive offices in the kingdom. The office is comparable to that of a city mayor.

From 2016 to 2022 Pol Gen Aswin Kwanmuang acted as Governor of Bangkok.^[10] He was appointed by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha using Section 44 of the interim charter to replace Sukhumbhand Paribatra. The reason given for his ouster was "...because he was involved in many legal cases."^[11]

The current incumbent is Chadchart Sittipunt. He was elected in a landslide victory in the 2022 Bangkok gubernatorial election, receiving 52.65 % (1.38 Million) of all votes cast, marking a new record-high, and winning in all 50 districts of Bangkok.^[12][13]

Powers and roles[edit]

The powers and role of the office of Governor of Bangkok in accordance with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration Act, BE 2528 (1985) (Thai: พระราชบัญญัติระเบียบบริหารราชการกรุงเทพมหานคร พ.ศ. 2528 are as follows:

• Formulate and implement policies for the Bangkok Metropolitan Area.
• Head the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.
• Appoint and remove deputy governors, advisors, board members, city officials, and public servants.
• Coordinate and carry out the orders of the Cabinet of Thailand, the Prime Minister of Thailand, and the Ministry of Interior.
• Oversee the smooth running of the various agencies and services of the city.
• The governor is also invested with the same powers as any other governor of a province of Thailand and any other mayor.
• The power to draw up legislation and bills for the city, to be considered in the Bangkok Metropolitan Council.

History[edit]

Since 1973, the city was administered by a single executive appointed by the cabinet from city civil servants. However soon, it was determined that the executive office should a popularly elected office instead. The passage of the Bangkok Metropolis Administrative Organisation Act, BE 2518 (1975) (Thai: พระราชบัญญัติระเบียบบริหารราชการกรุงเทพมหานคร พ.ศ. 2518), created the Bangkok Metropolis to replace Bangkok Province and created an elected governor with a four-year term.

The first election for the office was held on the 10 August 1975. Thammanoon Thien-ngern was elected as the first Governor of Bangkok. Conflicts between the governor and the Bangkok Metropolitan Council, however, became so fierce that Thanin Kraivichien, the Prime Minister of Thailand removed him and reinstated the appointment system. Elections resumed with the passing of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration Act, BE 2528 (1985). Elections were held on 14 November 1985.

List of governors[edit]

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Election	Party
			Took office	Left office
1		Chamnan Yaovabun ชำนาญ ยุวบูรณ์ (1914–2015)	1 January 1973	22 October 1973	—		Independent
2		At Visutyothaphiban อรรถ วิสูตรโยธาภิบาล (1915–2004)	1 November 1973	4 June 1974	—		Independent
3		Siri Santabutra ศิริ สันติบุตร (1912–2001)	5 June 1974	9 March 1975	—		Independent
4		Sai Hutacharoen สาย หุตะเจริญ	5 May 1975	9 August 1975	—		Independent
5		Thammanoon Thien-ngern ธรรมนูญ เทียนเงิน (1913–1989)	10 August 1975	29 April 1977	1975		Democrat
6		Chalor Thammasiri ชลอ ธรรมศิริ (1927–2021)	29 April 1977	14 May 1979	—		Independent
7		Chaowat Sudlapa เชาวน์วัศ สุดลาภา (1933–2001)	4 July 1979	16 April 1981	—		Independent
8		Thiem Mokaranont เทียม มกรานนท์	28 April 1981	1 November 1984	—		Independent
9		Asa Meksavan อาษา เมฆสวรรค์ (born 1924)	6 November 1984	13 November 1985	—		Independent
10		Chamlong Srimuang จำลอง ศรีเมือง (born 1935)	14 November 1985	14 November 1989	1985		Independent (until 1988)
							Palang Dharma (from 1988)
			7 January 1990	22 January 1992	1990
11		Krisda Arunvongse na Ayudhya กฤษฎา อรุณวงษ์ ณ อยุธยา (1932–2010)	19 April 1992	18 April 1996	1992		Palang Dharma
12		Bhichit Rattakul พิจิตต รัตตกุล (born 1946)	2 June 1996	1 June 2000	1996		Independent
13		Samak Sundaravej สมัคร สุนทรเวช (1935–2009)	23 July 2000	22 July 2004	2000		Thai Citizen (until 2001)
							Independent (from 2001)
14		Apirak Kosayodhin อภิรักษ์ โกษะโยธิน (born 1961)	29 August 2004	28 August 2008	2004		Democrat
			5 October 2008	19 November 2008	2008
15		Mom Rajawongse Sukhumbhand Paribatra[14] หม่อมราชวงศ์สุขุมพันธุ์ บริพัตร (born 1952)	11 January 2009	9 January 2013	2009		Democrat
			3 March 2013	18 October 2016	2013
16		Aswin Kwanmuang อัศวิน ขวัญเมือง (born 1951)	18 October 2016	24 March 2022	—		Independent
17		Chadchart Sittipunt ชัชชาติ สิทธิพันธุ์ (born 1966)	22 May 2022	Incumbent	2022		Independent

• Unless otherwise indicated, they were elected.

Bangkok Metropolitan Council[edit]

The Bangkok Metropolitan Council or BMC (Thai: สภากรุงเทพมหานคร) is the legislative branch of the administration. It is vested with primary legislative powers as well as the power to scrutinize and advise the governor. The council is headed by the Chairman of the Bangkok Metropolitan Council (Thai: ประธานสภากรุงเทพมหานคร). The current chairman, since 2013, is Captain Kriangsak Lohachala.

The number of members depends on the size of Bangkok's population. One member represents one hundred thousand people. From 2010 to 2014 there were 61 members,^[15] elected from 57 constituencies (some constituencies elect more than one member) in Bangkok. Each is elected to a four-year term. The last election was held on 22 May 2022. Currently there are 50 members, with Pheu Thai making up 20 seats, Move Forward 14 seats, the Democrat Party 9 seats, Rak Krungthep 3 seats, Phalang Pracharat 2 seats and Thai Srang Thai another 2 seats.^[16]

Committees[edit]

The council is divided into 11 general committees with five to nine members appointed by the councillors themselves:

1. Committee of Cleanliness and Environment
2. Committee for Checking the Minutes of Sittings and for Considering Closure of the Minutes of the Secret Sittings
3. Committee for the Affairs of the Bangkok Metropolitan Council
4. Committee for the Public Works and Utilities
5. Committee for Education and Culture
6. Committee for Health
7. Committee for Community Development and Social Welfare
8. Committee for Local Administration and Orderliness
9. Committee for Economics, Finance, and Follow-up of Budget Utilization
10. Committee for Tourism and Sports
11. Committee for Traffic, Transportation, and Drainage

Secretariat of the council[edit]

The Secretariat of the Bangkok Metropolitan Council (Thai: สำนักงานเลขานุการสภากรุงเทพมหานคร) is the executive agency of the council. The secretariat helps the council in all its roles including drafting of legislation, organisation of sessions, minutes and procedures of the council. The secretariat also helps members of the council by providing research and legal counsel. The secretariat is headed by the Secretary of the Bangkok Metropolitan Council (Thai: เลขานุการสภากรุงเทพมหานคร) The current secretary is Manit Tej-Apichok. The secretariat itself is divided into nine sections:

1. General Administration Section
2. Council and Committee Meetings Section
3. Working Committees Section
4. Legislation Section
5. Legal Section
6. Foreign Affairs Section
7. Council Service Section
8. Academic Section
9. Secretary Section

Criticism[edit]

The Bangkok Post has made the point that, although the city suffers from the "worst traffic congestion in the world after Mexico City", 37 disparate agencies are responsible for traffic management, planning, and infrastructure. It maintains that the city government panders to personal automobile use. As evidence, it points to the city's plans to construct four new bridges across the Chao Phraya River, its runaway air pollution, its lack of green space—less than that of any other Asian capital—and its "...obsession with felling trees along Bangkok streets."^[17]

See also[edit]

• Provinces of Thailand
• Districts of Bangkok
• History of Bangkok

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Bangkok Metropolitan Administration