King of Thailand from 1946. Born in the USA and educated in Bangkok and Switzerland, he succeeded to the throne on the assassination of his brother. In 1973 he was active, with popular support, in overthrowing the military government of Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn and thus ended a sequence of army-dominated regimes in power from 1932.
Blue stands for the Pacific Ocean. The yellow stripe represents the Equator. The points of the star symbolize the island's 12 original tribes. Effective date: 31 January 1968.