Bhumibol Adulyadej

His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great (ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช, actually pronounced Phumiphon Adunyadet), King Rama IX of Thailand, born December 5, 1927, has been King of Thailand since 1946. He is currently the world's longest-serving head of state, and is the ninth king of the Chakri Dynasty.

Private life

King Bhumibol is an accomplished jazz musician and composer. He was awarded honorary membership of the Vienna Institute of Music and Arts at the age of 32. He used to play jazz music on air on the Or Sor radio station earlier in his reign. His songs can often be heard at social gatherings and are performed in concerts.

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In addition, he is a painter, photographer and best-selling author and translator. His translated works are "Tito" (The biography of Josip Broz Tito, former Yugoslavia president, by Phyllis Auty) and "Nai In Phu Pid Tong Laang Phra" (The Man called Intrepid by William Stephenson). National best-seller "Phra Mahachanok" is based on a traditional Jataka story of Buddhist scripture. "The story of Thong Daeng" is the story of his dog Khun Thong Daeng. He suggested making this book into a bilingual comic illustrated by a nationally famous comic illustrator Chai Rajawat, and it sold out quickly. He is the world's only monarch to hold a patent, holding several patents on rainmaking since 1955: the "sandwich" rainmaking patent in 1999 and lately the "supersandwich" patent in 2004.

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