In Thailand, local government executives oversee administration at the provincial, municipal, and district levels, with titles such as Provincial Administrative Organization President, Mayor, and Bangkok Governor, among others. These executives are primarily elected directly, a system adopted in 2004 for all local administrative organizations, including municipalities, Bangkok, and Pattaya City. Initially piloted in Bangkok in 1978 and later in municipal governments starting in 2001, direct elections became standard following legal reforms in 2004. The shift provided citizens greater influence over local governance and clarified the separation between executives and local councils.

Local councils, or "local assemblies," act as a check on executives by monitoring governance but lack authority to dissolve executives or vote them out of office. Executives serve fixed terms, independent of the council’s schedule, and cannot hold council membership positions. This separation strengthens accountability while ensuring executives operate within legal boundaries, accountable to both the council and the local population.