The Druk Gyalpo (; 'Dragon King') is the
head of state
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
of the
Kingdom 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 ...
. In the
Dzongkha language, Bhutan is known as ''Drukyul'' which translates as "The Land of the Thunder Dragon". Thus, while kings of Bhutan are known as ''Druk Gyalpo'' ("Dragon King"), the Bhutanese people call themselves the ''Drukpa'', meaning "people of Druk (Bhutan)".
The current sovereign of Bhutan is
Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the fifth ''Druk Gyalpo''.
He wears the
Raven Crown, which is the official crown worn by the kings of Bhutan. He is correctly styled "''Mi'wang 'Ngada Rinpoche''" ("His Majesty") and addressed "''Ngada Rimboche''" ("Your Majesty").
King Jigme Khesar was the second-youngest reigning monarch in the world when he ascended the throne on 1 November 2008 after his father,
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 ...
, abdicated the throne in his favour.
[
]
Duties and powers
The Constitution confirms the institution of monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...
. The Druk Gyalpo (King of Bhutan) is the head of state
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
and the symbol of unity of the kingdom and of the people of Bhutan. The Constitution establishes the " Chhoe-sid-nyi" (dual system of religion and politics) of Bhutan as unified in the person of the kingwho, as a Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
, is the upholder of the Chhoe-sid (religion and politics; temporal and secular).[ In addition, the king is the protector of all religions in Bhutan.][Constitution of Bhutan]
, Art. 3 The king is not answerable in a court of law for his actions, and his person is sacrosanct.[Constitution of Bhutan]
, Art. 2 However, the king is mandated to protect and uphold the Constitution "in the best interest and for the welfare of the people of Bhutan".
Royal prerogatives
Under the Constitution, the king, in exercise of his royal prerogative
The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege and immunity, recognized in common law and, sometimes, in civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy, as belonging to the sovereign and which have become widely vested in th ...
s (and as head of state), promotes goodwill and good relations with other countries by receiving state guests and undertaking state visits to other countries. The king may also award titles, decorations, ''dar'' for Lhengye and Nyi-Kyelma (conferring a red scarf of rank and honour with the title of "Dasho
Dasho ( Dzongkha: དྲག་ཤོས; Wylie: ''Drag-shos'') (lit. Excellent One) is a Bhutanese honorific that is bestowed upon individuals, along with a red scarf kabney, by the Druk Gyalpo. In common practice, however, many senior government ...
") in accordance with tradition and custom. Also among the royal prerogatives are the grants of citizenship
Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection".
Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
, amnesty, pardon and reduction of sentences; and land "kidu" and other "kidus" (benefits).[
]
Royal appointments
Under Article 2, Section 19, the king appoints a significant number of high-level government officers: judicial appointees, the auditor general, and the chairs of anti-corruption, civil service, and election commissions are holders of constitutional office.[Constitution of Bhutan]
, Art. 31[
The king appoints most of the upper judicial branch: the chief justice of Bhutan and the drangpons (associate justices) of the Supreme Court; the chief justice and drangpons (associate justices) of the High Court. These judicial appointments are made from among the vacant positions' peers, juniors, and available eminent jurists in consultation with the National Judicial Commission][Constitution of Bhutan]
, Art. 21[ Dungkhag Court jurists are not appointed by the king.
The king also appoints, from lists of names recommended jointly by the prime minister, the chief justice of Bhutan, the speaker, the chairperson of the National Council, and the leader of the opposition party, four kinds of high-level government: the chief election commissioner and other members of the ]Election Commission
An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
;[Constitution of Bhutan]
, Art. 24 the auditor general of the Royal Audit Authority;[Constitution of Bhutan]
, Art. 25 the chairperson and other members of the Royal Civil Service Commission;[Constitution of Bhutan]
, Art. 26 and the chairperson and other members of the Anti-Corruption Commission.[Constitution of Bhutan]
, Art. 27 The term for each position is five years. Referenced for incorporation
Incorporation may refer to:
* Incorporation (business), the creation of a corporation
* Incorporation of a place, creation of municipal corporation such as a city or county
* Incorporation (academic), awarding a degree based on the student having ...
are the ''Bhutanese Audit Act'', ''Bhutanese Civil Service Act'', ''Bhutanese Anti-Corruption Act'', and '' Attorney General Act''; references to existing '' Election Laws'' also appear throughout the Constitution.
The king appoints positions other than Constitutional Officers on the advice of other bodies.[ He appoints the heads of the Defence Forces from a list of names recommended by the Service Promotion Board. The king appoints the ]attorney general of Bhutan
The Office of the Attorney General of Bhutan (Dzongkha: ; Wylie: ') is the legal arm of the executive branch of the government. It is also the legal adviser of the government and its representative in the judicial system of Bhutan. Under the Con ...
,[Constitution of Bhutan]
, Art. 29 the chairperson of the Pay Commission,[Constitution of Bhutan]
, Art. 30 the governor of the Central Bank of Bhutan, the cabinet secretary, and Bhutanese ambassadors and consuls on the recommendation of the prime minister. The king also appoints dzongdags to head local governments, and other secretaries to the government on the recommendation of the prime minister who obtains nominations from the Royal Civil Service Commission on the basis of merit and seniority and in accordance with other relevant rules and regulations. The king appoints the secretary general of the respective houses on the recommendation of the Royal Civil Service Commission.
Military powers
The king is also the supreme commander in chief of the Armed Forces and the Militia of Bhutan.[Constitution of Bhutan]
, Art. 28
Voluntary and involuntary abdication
The Constitution provides substantive and procedural law for two paths of abdication for reigning monarchs: voluntary and involuntary. As stated above, the king may relinquish the exercise of royal prerogatives, and such relinquishment may be temporary.
The Constitution provides that the king must abdicate the throne for wilful violations of the Constitution or for suffering permanent mental disability. Either must be upon a motion passed by a joint sitting of Parliament. The motion for abdication must be tabled for discussion at a joint sitting of Parliament (presided by the chief justice of Bhutan) if at least ⅔ of the total number of the members of Parliament submits such a motion stating its basis and grounds. The king may respond to the motion in writing or by addressing the joint sitting of Parliament in person or through a representative.[
If, at such joint sitting of Parliament, at least ¾ of the total number of members of Parliament passes the motion for abdication, then such a resolution is placed before the people in a National Referendum to be approved or rejected. If the National Referendum passes in all the Dzongkhags in the Kingdom, the kingmust abdicate in favour of the ]heir apparent
An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...
.
List of Druk Gyalpos
The Hereditary Dragon Kings of Bhutan:
See also
* Constitution of Bhutan
* Druk
The Druk ( bo, འབྲུག, dz, ་) is the "Thunder Dragon" of Tibetan and Bhutanese mythology and a Bhutanese national symbol. A druk appears on the flag of Bhutan, holding jewels to represent wealth. In Dzongkha, Bhutan is called ''Dru ...
* Druk Gyaltsuen
* Dual system of government
* History of Bhutan
* House of Wangchuck
The Wangchuck dynasty () have held the hereditary position of Druk Gyalpo ("Dragon King") of Bhutan since 1907. Prior to reunification, the Wangchuck family had governed the district of Trongsa as descendants of Dungkar Choji. They eventually ov ...
* Politics of Bhutan
References
{{Bhutan topics
Titles of national or ethnic leadership
Royal titles
1907 establishments in Bhutan