Queen Mother Dorji Wangmo (
Dzongkha
Dzongkha (; ) is a Sino-Tibetan language that is the official and national language of Bhutan. It is written using the Tibetan script.
The word means "the language of the fortress", from ' "fortress" and ' "language". , Dzongkha had 171,080 n ...
: རྡོ་རྗེ་དབང་མོ་དབང་ཕྱུག་;
Wylie: ''Rdo-rje Dbang-mo Dbang-phyug'') (born 10 June 1955, second daughter of ''Yab Dasho'' Ugyen Dorji and ''Yum'' Thuji Zam) is the Queen Mother (Gyalyum Kude, literally meaning "Queen Mother") of
Bhutan
Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...
, and first wife of former King
Jigme Singye Wangchuck
Jigme Singye Wangchuck ( dz, འཇིགས་མེད་སེང་གེ་དབང་ཕྱུག་, ; born 11 November 1955) is a member of the House of Wangchuck who was the king of Bhutan (Druk Gyalpo) from 1972 until his abdicati ...
, who is married to four sisters all of whom were entitled to be called queen.
Biography
Her father, ''Yab Dasho'' Ugyen Dorji (1925–2019), was the Founder and Proprietor of
Ugyen Academy (03/04/2002). Her mother is ''Yum'' Thuiji Zam (b. 1932).
''Ashi'' Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck is the first wife of King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the Fourth King of Bhutan.
She was educated at
St. Helen's School,
Kurseong
Kurseong is a town and a municipality in Darjeeling district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Kurseong subdivision.
Located at an altitude of , Kurseong is from Darjeeling and has a pleasant climate throughout ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
She is the mother of Princess ''Ashi''
Sonam Dechen Wangchuck
Princess ''Ashi'' Sonam Dechen Wangchuck (born 5 August 1981) is a princess of Bhutan. She is the daughter of the fourth King of Bhutan Jigme Singye Wangchuck and his wife, Queen Mother ''Ashi'' Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck. She is half-sister of the f ...
and Prince ''Dasho''
Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck.
Activities
The Queen Mother is not only an accomplished author but also a keen supporter of literary works, particularly among the youth. She has sponsored and edited a number of books on poetry and essays on issues of relevance to the country. She is the author of “Of Rainbows and Clouds” a story of ''Dasho Yab'' Ugyen Dorji (the Queen’s Father), which is not only a gripping family saga, but an illuminating window on Bhutanese culture, society and history. Her second book “Treasures of the Thunder Dragon: A Portrait of Bhutan” is a blend of personal memoir, history, folklore and travelogue. Her third book “Dochula: A Spiritual Abode in Bhutan“ is a documentation of the Druk Wangyel Complex consisting of the Lungchutse Lhakhang, 108 Druk Wangyel Stupas, the Druk Wangyel Lhakhang and the Druk Wangyel Tshechu.
She was honoured with the Pope Francis Charity and Leadership Award at a ceremony, in recognition of the work done by Her Majesty’s Tarayana Foundation under her leadership.
Children
She had, with the former king, the following children:
Selected works
* ''Of Rainbows and Clouds: The Life of Yab Ugyen Dorji as told to His Daughter'' (1998).
* ''Treasures of the Thunder Dragon: A Portrait of Bhutan'' (2006).
* ''Dochula: A Spiritual Abode in Bhutan'' (2015).
Patronages
* Chief Patron to
Ministry of Agriculture and Forests (MOAF) since 1999.
* Chief Patron of “Bhutan Echoes: Drukyul's Arts & Literature Festival”.
* Honorary President of
Sherubtse College
Sherubtse College is the first accredited college in Bhutan, founded in 1966 by a group of Jesuits under the leadership of Father William Mackey. The college was affiliated to the University of Delhi by a special act of the Indian parliament.
...
since 2000.
* President and Founder of the Tarayana Foundation (TF) since 2003.
* Patron of the
Folk Heritage Museum
The Folk Heritage Museum or Phelchey Toenkhyim is a museum in Thimphu, Thimphu District, Bhutan.
History
The museum was opened on 28 July 2001 from the initiative of founder queen mother ''Ashi'' Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck.
Architecture
The museum ...
(FHM)
helchey Toenkhyimsince 2001.
Honours
* :
** Caritas in Veritate International: Pope Francis Award for Charity & Leadership (22 October 2016).
Tarayana Foundation
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References
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorji Wangmo
1955 births
Living people
Bhutanese monarchy
20th-century women writers
20th-century writers
21st-century women writers
Queen mothers
Wangchuck dynasty