Pattaya Mail Media on July 4 joins the
Kingdom in humbly wishing a Happy Birthday to a most remarkable person,
Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn. (Photo courtesy Bureau of the
Royal Household)
Staff reporters
Born on July 4, 1957, Her Royal Highness Princess
Chulabhorn is the youngest daughter of Their Majesties King Bhumibol
Adulyadej the Great and Queen Sirikit of Thailand. She has two
daughters, HRH Princess Siribhachudhabhorn and HRH Princess
Adityadhornkitikhun.
Princess Chulabhorn graduated from the Faculty of
Science and Arts at Kasetsart University with a Bachelor of Science
Degree in Organic Chemistry, First Class Honors, in 1979, following with
a doctorate in 1985, being awarded a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in
Organic Chemistry from Mahidol University in July of that year, capping
off a record of excellent academic achievement.
In 1986, she was appointed as an Honorary Fellow of
the Royal Society of Chemistry in London and was awarded the Einstein
Gold Medal by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO).
The following year, she undertook post-doctoral
studies in Germany, and has since been a visiting professor at
universities in Japan, Germany, and the United States, as well as
holding Honorary Doctorates from many universities around the world.
Her Royal Highness is chairperson of the Working
Group on the Chemistry of Natural Products, a collaborative program
between the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science and the
National Research Council of Thailand.
HRH the Princess has received international
recognition for her scientific accomplishments, resulting in her
appointment to various United Nations posts, namely special advisor to
the United Nations Environment Program and member of the Special
High-Level Council for the International Decade for Natural Disaster
Reduction of the United Nations.
As a result of her experience as a scientist, HRH the
Princess became aware of the difficulties Thai researchers have in
obtaining the necessary funding for their research and so, in 1987, she
established the Chulabhorn Research Institute to provide a new
fund-raising agency for such research.
This institute now acts as a focal point for the
exchange of intellectual and other resources in Thailand, for the
purpose of solving urgent problems confronting the country in areas of
health, environment, and agriculture.
As president of the Chulabhorn Research Institute,
HRH the Princess currently directs many special research projects,
including the AIDS program; a program on restoration and integrated
development of the flood-affected areas in Southern Thailand; seawater
irrigation for cultivation of economic marine species and preservation
of the mangrove forests; a rabies eradication program, with a special
project for accelerated immunization in five southern provinces in
Thailand; the Light for Life Foundation for Epilepsy, Chulalongkorn
Comprehensive Epilepsy Program; Tabtim Siam Secondary School in Surin
province; and the ‘Voice of Dhamma for the Public’ Radio Station in Udon
Thani province.
Through these programs HRH the Princess plays an
auspicious role in improving the environment and living standards of the
villagers in a number of Thai provinces.
This past year has been most eventful for HRH
Princess Chulabhorn, both good and not so good. Back in October, 2010,
HRH the Princess underwent a successful operation, and during her stay
to recover at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, representatives of
various agencies wished her good health and a speedy recovery. In
December 2010, HRH the Princess broke a thigh bone, requiring more
surgery. Again, much to the relief of Thai citizens, the surgery was
successful, although recovery is ongoing. Finally, in May this year, HRH
the Princess was slightly hurt in an auto accident in Jerusalem.
On a happier note, HRH the Princess was able to
travel this past year, beginning with a royal visit to the Republic of
Korea in August 2010 where she delivered the inaugural speech at the
2010 Joint Conference of International Society of Exposure Science &
International Society for Environmental Epidemiology. Her Royal Highness
also gave a lecture on “Cancer Risk from Exposure to Air Pollution” by
invitation from the president of the National Institute of Environmental
Research, Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Korea and co-chair
of the Organizing Committee of International Society of Exposure Science
& International Society for Environmental Epidemiology.
In May this year, HRH Princess Chulabhorn made her
sixth visit to Israel, this time to promote bilateral cooperation in
science research. A qualified epileptologist (a neurologist who treats
epilepsy), HRH the Princess is heavily involved in promoting scientific
research and is a guest lecturer in chemistry at Mahidol University in
Bangkok. She was the first Asian invited to join Britain’s Royal Society
of Chemistry as an Honorary Fellow.
On June 9, 2011, HRH Princess Chulabhorn visited St.
Petersburg, Russia, where she was awarded the title of Honorary Doctor
of the St. Petersburg State University at an official ceremony.
Also in Russia, on June 13 HRH Princess Chulabhorn
became the 25th recipient of the Honorary Doctor’s Degree from the D.
Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia (MUCTR). In the
institute’s 50 years, the honorary doctor’s degree has only been granted
to 24 others, including former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
A day earlier, HRH the Princess was also conferred with the N.D.
Zelinsky award by the Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry (ZIOC)
established this year to mark the 150th birthday of its founder, Nikolay
Dimitrievich Zelinsky. This special prize is awarded only to those who
bring an outstanding contribution to the development of chemical
science, engineering and education. Director of the ZIOC Prof M P Egorov
said HRH Princess Chulabhorn was selected to be the first recipient of
the prize because of her outstanding achievements in chemistry which
have been applied to educational and environmental development of
Thailand.
Back home in Thailand, in April this year HRH the
Princess gave an interview to Channel 9 TV, during which HRH the
Princess said she doesn’t want to be involved in politics, but that, “I
know that what happened last year, when the country was burnt … brought
great sorrow to Their Majesties the King and Queen. … HM the Queen said
that it was even sadder than when our country, Ayutthaya, was burnt by
the Burmese because this time it was done by the Thais ourselves. …
Being divisive is not good for the country. We should try to talk. Don’t
use violence. Divisiveness and blocking roads makes traffic jams, and
people are moody. I do not side with anyone, or any color.”
Responding as she does to international needs during
times of trouble, on April 12, 2001, Her Royal Highness Princess
Chulabhorn graciously donated 4.64 million baht in cash, plus plastic
containers, torches with batteries and drinking water to Foreign
Minister Kasit Piromya and Japanese Ambassador to Thailand Seiji Kojima
at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to assist victims of the massive
earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Thank you HRH Princess Chulabhorn for your lifetime
of dedication.
All of us at the Pattaya Mail Media Group join
the entire Kingdom in wishing Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn a
Most Happy 54th Birthday on the fourth of July 2010.
