The Ministry of the Privy Seal (, ) was a government ministry of Siam (Thailand) in existence from 1892 to 1896 and again from 1911 to 1926. Originating from the historical Royal Scribes Department (, ), it was responsible for royal secretarial and document and record-keeping matters.

History

The Royal Scribes Department was an office of the royal court responsible for producing

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

s of royal decrees, laws, and other documents, and maintaining records thereof. The department probably dates from the time of the later

Ayutthaya period The Ayutthaya Kingdom or the Empire of Ayutthaya was a Thai people, Thai kingdom that existed in Southeast Asia from 1351 to 1767, centered around the city of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya (city), Ayutthaya, in Siam, or present-day Thailand. Europe ...

( 17th century), and was one of the six ''krom montri''—offices directly under the control of the king—in the

Chatusadom Chatusadom or Catustambha ( , literally "Four Pillars" from Sanskrit ''Catur'' "Four" + ''Stambha'' "Pillars") was the Thai system of central executive governance during the Ayutthaya Kingdom, Thonburi Kingdom and Rattanakosin Kingdom from 1454 ...

system. Royal scribes were important courtiers who were accorded a high level of trust, as they were responsible for relaying the orders of the king. The position required good command of the Thai language, as well as penmanship skills. Some head scribes (who in the Rattanakosin period were usually granted the noble title Sunthonwohan) as such became known as prominent poets (most notably

Sunthorn Phu Phra Sunthorn Vohara (Phu) (, , ; 26 June 1786 – 1855), known as Sunthorn Phu (, , ), was a Thai poet. He is often referred to as the "Shakespeare of Thailand." Born four years after the founding of the Rattanakosin Kingdom, he entered royal ...

) and language scholars ( Noi Acharyankura, ). By the time of King

Chulalongkorn Chulalongkorn (20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910), posthumously honoured as King Chulalongkorn the Great, was the fifth king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama V. Chulalongkorn's reign from 1868 until his death in 1910 was cha ...

(Rama V), as part of government reforms, the Royal Scribes Department was reorganized into the Ministry of the Privy Seal in 1892, with its work split among three constituent departments: the new Royal Scribes Department, now under the ministry, which oversaw official documents and records; the Council of State Office () served as an executive body to the Council of State; and the Office (or Department) of His Majesty's Private Secretary () which performed the duties of the king's private secretary. The first instance of the ministry was short-lived, and in 1896, it was subsumed into the Office His Majesty's Private Secretary. Its constituent departments underwent many subsequent reorganizations, with the ministry being revived in 1911 by King

Vajiravudh Vajiravudh (1 January 188126 November 1925) was the sixth Monarchy of Thailand, king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VI. He reigned from 1910 until his death in 1925. King Vajiravudh is best known for his efforts to create and pro ...

(Rama VI), only to be abolished again in 1926 by his successor, King

Prajadhipok Prajadhipok (8 November 1893 – 30 May 1941) was the seventh king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VII. His reign was a turbulent time for Siam due to political and social changes during the 1932 Siamese revolution. He i ...

(Rama VII). In 1932, following the Siamese Revolution, the Office of His Majesty's Private Secretary was renamed the Office of His Majesty's Principal Private Secretary, with its status as a public body equivalent to a government department (or directorate general under a ministry). It retained this status until 2017, when the Royal Decree on the Organization of the Administrative and Personnel Affairs of the Royal Household, B.E. 2560 (2017), was issued. The agency was then renamed back to the Office of His Majesty's Private Secretary. Today, the former ministry's functions are mainly covered by the Secretariat of the Cabinet (SOC). The royal scribes' original calligraphic duties are preserved, now by the Bureau of Royal Scribes and Royal Decorations under the SOC, in the practice of hand-writing

folding-book manuscript Folding-book manuscripts are a type of writing material historically used in Mainland Southeast Asia, particularly in the areas of present-day Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. They are known as ''parabaik'' in Burmese, ''samut thai'' in Thai o ...

copies of each new

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

. The bureau is also responsible for the safekeeping of the royal seals and their proper affixation to royal decrees and laws.

Notes

References

{{reflist Defunct government ministries of Thailand 1892 establishments in Siam 1896 disestablishments in Siam 1911 establishments in Siam 1926 disestablishments in Siam