Profile: Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej

Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, also known as King Rama IX and the ninth monarch of the Chakri dynasty, passed away in Bangkok at 15:52 local time on Thursday.

At the age of 88, the King has reigned for 70 years since 1946 and was the world's longest-reigning monarch.

He has been ill and admitted at Siriraj hospital in Bangkok since 2006. He managed to leave the hospital for a short period of time but only to return in a matter of days.

A son of Prince Mahidol Adulyadej and Princess Srinagarindra, King Bhumibol was born on December 5, 1927 in Cambridge, Massachusetts of the United States and grew in Lausanne, Switzerland before he accompanied his elder brother, King Ananda Mahidol or King Rama VIII, to Thailand in 1928.

Shortly after the death of his elder brother, King Ananda Mahidol, King Bhumibol departed for Switzerland where he quietly spent his private life for several years before returning to the throne in Thailand.

On June 9, 1946, the then-Prince Bhumibol was pronounced monarch to succeed his brother.

In 1950, King Bhumibol was married to Queen Sirikit Kitiyakara. He has four children, namely Ubolratana Rajakanya, Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and Princess Chulabhorn Walailak.

He was admitted to Siriraj hospital in October 2007 and diagnosed with a blood shortage in the brain and had spinal, cardiac and renal ailments as well as Parkinson disease.

The monarch was widely known for his initiatives on the agricultural and irrigational sector, which were formulated into some 4,000 development projects throughout the country during the past several decades. He was as well noted for initiating the so-called sufficiency economy, which was not only promoted in Thailand but also in other developing countries. Endit