Ministerial and Departmental Flags (Thailand)

Last modified: 2023-09-20 by zachary harden
Keywords: minister | prime minister | governor | department: harbour | defense | interior | harbour | stripes: 5 | mythical creature | elephant | crown: thai | anchor: fouled (blue) |
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• Prime Minister
• President of the National Assembly
• Departmental Flags
• Minister of Defense
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment
• Ministry of Commerce
• Ministry of Public Health
• Customs Department (Ministry of Finance)
• State Railway of Thailand
• Tourism Authority of Thailand
• Sports Authority of Thailand
• Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives

• Flag on State Buildings
• Ministry of the Interior
• Minister (other than War Minister)
• Harbour Department 1911
• Governor 1891-?

See also:

• Government Service Pennants
• Thailand

Current flags

See also: Prime Minister (Thailand)

From the 1979 Flag Act:

Section 43. Flags Showing Positions in General are:: (2) Speaker of the House Flag which is rectangular shape with 5 parts width and 6 parts length and a white field; in the middle of the flag there are charges of the Constitution enshrined upon a gold 2-tire pedestal underneath the Phra Maha Mongut which is in yellow, these charges are in the middle between red Kranok designs.

Departmental Flags

From the Singha Beer source:

The design of most departmental flag[s] is not specified by any of the Royal Decree[s] concerning flags. In B.E.2440 [1897 AD], however, a decree was issued stipulating that the Royal Yacht's flag were to be used with the insignia of each specific department or unit, on the front in the top left hand corner. Royal permission had to be granted before anyone was allowed to use the flag.

In B.E.2460 [1917 AD], the year the "Trairanga" became the National flag following a special Royal Decree, all departmental flags adopted the design of the "Trairanga", but with the Insign[i]a of each department in the middle. This was carried out in accordance with a special Royal command which was published in the Royal Gazette.

Santiago Dotor, 12 November 1999

The governmental departments adopted different flags after the Second World War and I am not sure whether the national flag with emblem adopted for the departments in 1917 are now back in use.
Jaume Ollé, 17 August 1997

Minister of Defense

5:6 image by Wikimedia Commons User Sodacan, 25 August 2018

2:3 White flag with Ministry emblem. Emblem consists of a dark blue anchor set though a red chakra with light blue wings all crowned with a yellow Thai royal crown. It's shown in Flaggenbuch with minor differences in artistic layout of the emblem, in ratio 5:6. Source: Album 2000
Željko Heimer, 30 March 2003

Minister of Defence flag. Source: Flaggenbuch; Flags of All Nations. Badge from Thai Ministry of Defense site.
Miles Li, 25 October 2005

The Flag Act of 1979 confirms the 5:6 ratio: "43-(5) Minister of Defence Flag which is rectangular shape with 5 parts width and 6 parts length and a white field; in the middle of the flag, there are charges of a red eight- pointed Chakra with the points of the Chakra turning to the right and a deep blue anchor inserted into the Chakra; on the left and right sides of the Chakra, there are charges of spreading blue bird wings, underneath the yellow Phra Maha Mongut"
Zachary Harden, 25 August 2018

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

2:3 image by Zachary Harden, 21 May 2016

Visible in photos on the ministry site, the flag is dark blue with a white-outline circular seal depicting a seated mythological being.
Eugene Ipavec, 25 September 2007

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Thai: กระทรวงการต่างประเทศ) is the principal governmental department in charge of foreign relations in Thailand. It was established on April 14, 1840".
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Foreign_Affairs_(Thailand)

The flag is the seal (The Seal of the Crystal Lotus) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Foreign_Affairs_(Thailand)#/media/File:Seal_of_the_Thai_Ministry_of_Foreign_Affairs.png) over a blue background flag as seen here: http://www.mfa.go.th/main/contents/images/media-center-20150615-173112.jpg (source: http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/media-center/28/57677-Ambassador-of-the-Republic-of-Chile-to-Thailand-pa.html).

For additional information go to Ministry of Foreign Affairs (official website): http://www.mfa.go.th/
Esteban Rivera,, 21 May 2016

2:3 image by Zachary Harden, 21 May 2016

The flag with a gold seal is also reported: http://m.mfa.go.th/main/contents/images/media-center_other-20130729-185544-3.jpg.
Zachary Harden, 21 May 2016

2:3 image by Zachary Harden, 14 September 2020

The flag of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is their emblem on a white background.
Zachary Harden, 14 September 2020

2:3 image by Zachary Harden, 15 September 2020

The flag of the Ministry of Commerce is their emblem on a blue background.
Zachary Harden, 15 September 2020

The flag of the MOPH is their emblem placed in the center of a green flag.
Zachary Harden, 28 October 2021

Customs Department (Ministry of Finance)

image by Zachary Harden, 15 March 2017

The Customs Department, a part of the Ministry of Finance, has the duty of collecting taxes and other fees from imports to Thailand. It also acts as a police force to seize items that are illegal to import. Not much of the department's history is known, nor any significance on the symbol used for the department, which can be seen at http://en.customs.go.th/data_files/1603091932431427107674.jpg.

The flag of the Customs Department is green with the symbol outlined in gold (with the character in the center of the monogram is colored gold). The flag can be seen at http://www2.mof.go.th/webmanage/pic_news/9965/customs050759-02.jpg.
Zachary Harden, 15 March 2017

State Railway of Thailand

Thai vexillologist Phanuwit Woonchoom sent me a photo taken by another vexillologist Athip Udom of the Thai Railways flag. It is a red flag with their emblem (in gold) placed in the center. Founded in 1890, the State Railway of Thailand continues to operate under the direction of the Ministry of Transport.
Zachary Harden, 28 June 2020

Tourism Authority of Thailand

The pre-2022 flag, with a more detailed seal, can be seen here.
Paul Bassinson, 26 July 2023

Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives

This logo was adopted by decree on 10 January, 2022.
Suttipong Phuensaen, 27 February 2022

Former flags

Flag on State Buildings

image by Jaume Ollé

Ministry of the Interior

2:3 image by Eugene Ipavec

From the Singha Beer source:

Flag of the Interior Ministry (B.E.2460) [1917 AD]
This flag is similar to the "Trairanga" except for the fact that the figure of a "Singha" standing on a yellow platform in the centre.

Santiago Dotor, 12 November 1999

In Sanskrit, "singha" means lion. Quoting the Novica website:

The lion-like beast, Singha, is the true king of the forest. His roar echoes to great distances, terrifying all forest animals, great and small. He stands at the entrance of the Thai temple, guarding the sacred Buddhist teachings.

• the lion is featured on the flag of Sri Lanka. In Sinhalese, "singha" means lion.
• the seat of the government of Nepal is called Singha Durbar or "Lion's Palace."
• "Singapore" means "Lion's Town" and uses a lion symbol.

Minister (other than War Minister) 1939

5:6 image by Eugene Ipavec

Flaggenbuch 1939 also shows another similar flag to the Regent's, with a 5:6 ratio, the centred escutcheon alone and no supporters, as Staatsminister (außer Kriegsminister) or "Minister (other than War Minister)".
Santiago Dotor, 20 January 2000

Harbour Department 1911

image by Jaume Ollé, Miles Li and Eugene Ipavec

From the Singha Beer source:

The Harbour Departmental Flag (B.E.2454) [1911 AD]
This is a red flag with a white elephant in full caparison – standing on a raised dais facing the flagpole. In the top right-hand corner is a yellow crown above a black anchor with a yellow cord dangling from it.

Santiago Dotor, 12 November 1999

(Example shown: Governor of Ayudhya, 1912)
image by Jaume Ollé, Miles Li and Eugene Ipavec

From the Singha Beer source:

The Governor's Flag
The Governor's Flag is a red flag with a white elephant – in full caparison – standing on a raised dais. In the top left-hand corner, there is a white circle, the diameter of which is one fourth of the width of the entire flag. In the middle of the circle stands the city's coat of arms. [Like the War Ensign 1891-1917 with city coat-of-arms inside a circle on the canton and a smaller elephant, slightly offset towards the fly.]

The flag, which first made an appearance in B.E.2434 [1891 AD], was known as "The White-Elephant-on-a-Platform Flag". The version shown here is the one used in B.E.2455 [1912 AD] by the Governor of Ayudhya during the reign, of King Rama VI. Governor's flag of this type were adopted for only a short period of time before their use was discontinued.

Santiago Dotor, 05 November 1999