Vivadhanajaya Jayanta

Vivadhanajaya Jayanta (Thai: พระองค์เจ้าวิวัฒนไชย; Phra-ongchao Vivadhanajaya; 29 April 1899 – 22 August 1960) was a son of Prince Jayanta Mongkol, the Prince Mahisara Rajaharudaya who was a son of King Mongkut so he was a grandchild of King Mongkut. He was former Minister of Finance and first Governor of the Bank of Thailand and the first Chairman of the board of the Crown Property Bureau.

Prince Vivadhanajaya Jayanta was the son of Prince Jayanta Mongkol, the Prince Mahisara Rajaharudaya, and Mom Suan Jayanta na Ayudhaya, both of them died when he was still young. He has studied at Royal Pages College when he was 6 years old and attended to the Royal College. He completed Grade 6 with the age of 12 years old in 1911. At that time King Rama V had died, Queen Saovabha Phongsri graciously invited him to be a student of His Majesty the Queen to studied in England. Began his elementary education at Torquay Preparatory School for 2 years, In 1913 he was promoted to secondary education at Cheltenham College. After that 3 years, he received a high school diploma from Oxford University and Cambridge University. In 1916 he study at the Magdalene College he received a second class honors degree in history (B.A.). After that in 1919 he went to study in Paris, France to studied at the École Libre des Sciences Politiques for 1 year and therefore returned to Thailand in 1920.

When he returned to Thailand is the reign of King Rama VI to serve in the Ministry of Treasury in the position of Secretary of the Ministry as the first position and then in 1927 which was the reign of King Rama VII therefore graciously pleased him to be the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Treasury at that time, he was 28 years old when he was Permanent Secretary so it made him the youngest civil servant who serve as Permanent Secretary to the Ministry.

In those days, the government saw the maintenance of the coast of the west of Thailand therefore established one council to do this so he was appointed as a member of the West Coast Seaboard Council as a special duty. In addition, in the same period, King Rama VII want to improve the regarding of the Privy Council by having the members of the Privy Council to consult with the government in the matter that the king will be assigned to consider commented in the official so the king had graciously set up Prince Vivadhanajaya Jayanta to be a member of the Privy Council.

In 1930, the Director-General of the Revenue Department was vacant therefore graciously pleased to move hum from the position of Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Treasury to be the Director-General of the Revenue Department. He reorganize the tax system to be more fair to society and canceling old taxes and gradually modifying to collect new taxes to suit the prosperity of the country and the average burden of the tax goes out in a fair manner not to fall to a single group of people, mostly as before.

After the end of World War II, Prince Vivadhanajaya Jayanta was the head of the Thai delegation to negotiate the status of war with United Kingdom on 21 September 1945 in Kandy, Sri Lanka, which was then a British colony and moved to meet in Singapore in December of the same year until the end of the complete agreement which called Anglo-Thai Peace Treaty on 1 January 1946.

Prince Vivadhanajaya Jayanta had previously been ill with heart disease but received treatment from the doctor until healed. On 22 August 1960 while he writing the letter the heart suddenly stopped. and died in peace at 12.15 hours, at the age of 61 years, 3 months and 24 days. King Rama IX while staying at the Queluz Palace, Lisbon, Portugal for state visit he assign to Princess Mother Srinagarindra to presided over the funeral ceremony and performed the royal charity in the funeral.