Government > Leaders Stats: compare key data on Netherlands & Thailand

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STAT	Netherlands	Thailand	HISTORY
Head of state	King Willem-Alexander	King Bhumibol Adulyadej
Head of state > Profile	<p>King Willem-Alexander became the first Dutch male monarch in more than a century in April 2013 when his mother Beatrix abdicated to end a 33-year reign. </p> <p>The generational change in the House of Orange-Nassau gave the Netherlands a moment of celebration and pageantry at a time of recession brought on by the European economic crisis. </p> <p>The much-loved Beatrix ended her reign in a nationally televised signing ceremony as thousands of orange-clad people cheered outside. Her retirement followed in the tradition of her mother and grandmother.</p> <p>Willem-Alexander&#039;s popular Argentine-born wife became Queen Maxima and their eldest daughter, Catharina-Amalia, became Princess of Orange and first in line to the throne.</p> <p>The king, a water management specialist, has said he will bring a less formal touch to the monarchy.</p>	<p>Thailand is a constitutional monarchy. </p> <p>Its king, Bhumibol Adulyadej, assumed the throne in June 1946 and is the world&#039;s longest-reigning monarch. </p> <p>The royal family is revered by many Thais.</p> <p>Thailand has strict lese-majeste laws, and those deemed to have offended the monarchy - which is still a powerful force in the country - are often dealt with severely.</p>
Head of state > Summary	King Willem-Alexander with former queen Beatrix and Queen Maxima	King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit
Prime minister	Mark Rutte	Yingluck Shinawatra
Prime minister > Profile	<p>Mark Rutte won a second term in October 2012 when his liberal People&#039;s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) formed a coalition with the centre-left Labour Party after narrowly beating it in parliamentary elections.</p> <p>The VVD won 41 seats in the 150-member lower house - a lead of just two seats over Labour - in the September vote.</p> <p>Mr Rutte&#039;s previous cabinet - a minority coalition with the centre-right Christian Democratic Appeal - had collapsed after only two years in office.</p> <p>It resigned in April 2012 when populist politician Geert Wilders&#039; eurosceptic, anti-immigration Freedom Party, which had been propping up the government without joining it, refused to back a tough austerity package.</p> <p>The cuts were intended to comply with EU deficit targets.</p> <p>Mark Rutte&#039;s new cabinet was seen as more pro-austerity and pro-EU than his last one.</p> <p>The new coalition warned that tough measures would be needed to weather the financial crisis and secure the Netherlands&#039; economic future.</p> <p>The Freedom Party, which had held the balance of power in the previous parliament, suffered heavy losses in the September 2012 poll and came a distant third, tying with the left-wing Socialist Party.</p>	<p>Yingluck Shinawatra, the youngest sister of ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, led the opposition Pheu Thai party to a landslide victory in July 2011 and became Thailand&#039;s first woman prime minister.</p><p>In the country&#039;s first general election since 2007, Pheu Thai won 265 seats out of a possible 500 - enough to form a single-party government. </p> <p>However, in what was seen as a shrewd political move, the party announced it would form a coalition with four smaller parties, thus broadening its support in parliament for promised reforms. </p> <p>Ms Yingluck, aged 44 at the time of her election and a successful businesswoman, promised to bring stability and reconciliation to what had for some years been a deeply polarised country. However, critics were quick to point out her inexperience, given that she had never before run for office nor held a government post. </p> <p>The influence of her brother, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup and convicted of graft two years later, loomed large throughout the election and beyond. Despite living in self-imposed exile, Thaksin Shinawatra is still seen by many as pulling the strings of government behind the scenes.</p> <p>The opposition claimed that Ms Yingluck&#039;s primary role was to marshal the Thaksin faithful - the mainly poor rural voters who kept him in power - and serve as his proxy as he governed from abroad. </p> <p>Though Thailand enjoyed relative stability for the first two years of Ms Yingluck&#039;s premiership, an attempt to pass a political amnesty bill in the autumn of 2013 - which would have allowed Mr Thaksin to return from exile without serving his jail term - reignited simmering political tensions.</p> <p>The opposition brought its supporters out onto the streets in their tens of thousands, and mass protests continued for months.</p> <p>In December, Ms Yingluck dissolved the lower house of parliament and called early elections for February 2014 in a bid to defuse the crisis. This does not appear to have satisfied the opposition, which continues to call for her to step down and has announced that it will boycott the elections.</p> <p>Analysts say that despite the protests, Ms Yingluck still enjoys a strong rural support base, which could be enough to return her to power in the next elections.</p> <p>Yingluck Shinawatra has degrees in politics and before running for election she had a corporate career in telecommunications and property. She is married and has one son. </p>
Prime minister > Summary	Mark Rutte won a fresh mandate in September 2012	Thailand enjoyed a period of relative stability for the first two years of Ms Yingluck&#039;s premiership

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