Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome
(center) presides over the religious ceremony marking the 36th
Anniversary of Pattaya City.
Jetsada Homklin
Pattaya marked the 36th anniversary of the founding of the city
with a merit-making ceremony attended by city officials and residents.
The Nov. 29 ceremony began with the presentation of rice and dried food
to 60 monks before worshiping the Earth Mother Goddess at the entrance
of Pattaya City Hall. Attendees then moved to the King Taksin monument,
to honor the founding father of the city.
A wreath was also placed around a bust of Prinya Chawalitthamrong to
remember the former deputy interior minister who donated 10 rai of land
for Pattaya City Hall’s construction on Nov. 23, 1980. Prinya first came
to Pattaya in 1948 and helped develop Pattaya, Naklua, Nongprue and
Banglamung as tourist destinations. He passed away in 2005.
Nine monks who chanted and recited Dharma inside Pattaya City Hall then
stayed for lunch capped off the ceremony. There also was a presentation
of souvenirs to five former mayors of Pattaya and performances by
students from Pattaya School No 9.
Pattaya’s current status came into being with the Pattaya City
Administration Act of 1978. Before that the area was known as Naklua
Sanitation District, established in 1956, which was expanded to South
Pattaya in 1964 with a manageable area of 22.2 square kilometers.
As the township grew and became a favorite tourist destination of Thais
and foreigners alike, the former sanitation district could not manage
the administration and services to keep pace with its growth. The
government issued the Pattaya City Administration Act of 1978,
dissolving Naklua Sanitation District and Pattaya City was born.
The city has been administered under a special autonomous system of city
management since November 29, 1978.
The Constitution for the Kingdom of Thailand B.E. 2540 required that a
local administrator and a city council be elected. The Pattaya
Regulations for Administration Act B.E. 1979 was adopted on November 30,
1979 as the basis for the current city governance.
