:1988 in Thailand

The year 1988 was the 207th year of the Rattanakosin Kingdom of Thailand. It was the 43nd year in the reign of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), and is reckoned as year 2531 in the Buddhist Era.

Incumbents

19 February – ceasefire agreement ends Thai–Laotian Border War.{{cite journal |last1=Banerjee |first1=Sumantra |date=1988-01-16 |title=New Tension Point |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |volume=23 |issue=3 |page=62 |jstor=4377962}}

5 April – Kuwait Airways Flight 422 hijacked by Lebanese guerillas (suspected Hezbollah) after departing from Bangkok. During the incident the flight, initially forced to land in Iran, travelled 3,200 miles from Mashhad in northeastern Iran to Larnaca, Cyprus, and finally to Algiers. Two hostages were killed, prior to the crisis ending on 20 April.{{cite news |title=1988: Hijackers free 25 hostages |work=BBC On This Day |publisher=BBC |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/5/newsid_2522000/2522651.stm |url-status=live |accessdate=June 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110180926/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/5/newsid_2522000/2522651.stm |archive-date=November 10, 2013}}

24 May – Miss Thailand Phonthip Nakhirankanok won the crown title of the Miss Universe 1988 held in Taipei, Taiwan.{{cite news |date=12 July 2014 |title=From roots to wings |work=Bangkok Post |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/print/420138/}}

24 July – 1988 Thai general election – victory for the Thai Nation Party, which won 87 of the 357 seats. Voter turnout was 63.6%.Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p286 {{ISBN|0-19-924959-8}}

10 November – Phra Narai Lintel returned to Thailand and widely celebrated.{{cite news |date=25 October 1988 |title=Chicago Museum to Return Lintel Thais Say Was Stolen |work=The New York Times |agency=AP |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/25/us/chicago-museum-to-return-lintel-thais-say-was-stolen.html |access-date=7 January 2017}}