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Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck ( dz, འཇིགས་མེད་གེ་སར་རྣམ་རྒྱལ་དབང་ཕྱུག་, ; born 21 February 1980) is the
Druk Gyalpo The Druk Gyalpo (; 'Dragon King') is the head of state of the Kingdom of Bhutan. 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 ...
(
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 ...
: Dragon King) 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 mountainou ...
. 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 favor, he became the monarch on 9 December 2006. A public
coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of o ...
ceremony was held on 6 November 2008, a year that marked 100 years of monarchy in Bhutan.


Early life and education

Khesar was born 21 February 1980 at
Paropakar Maternity and Women's Hospital Paropakar Maternity and Women's Hospital, also known as Prasuti Griha (), is the first maternity hospital of Nepal. It is located on Maternity Hospital Road, in Thapathali, Kathmandu, Nepal. The hospital was established on 17 August 1959 and h ...
in
Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...
. He is the eldest son of the fourth
Dragon king The Dragon King, also known as the Dragon God, is a Chinese water and weather god. He is regarded as the dispenser of rain, commanding over all bodies of water. He is the collective personification of the ancient concept of the '' lóng'' in C ...
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 mountainou ...
,
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 ...
, and his third wife, Queen ''Ashi''
Tshering Yangdon Queen Mother Tshering Yangdon (born June 21, 1959) is the third wife of the former Bhutanese king, Jigme Singye Wangchuck. She is the current Queen Mother (Gyalyum Kude, literally meaning "Queen Mother") of Bhutan, as she is the mother of the c ...
. He has a younger sister, Princess ''Ashi'' Dechen Yangzom, and brother, Prince ''Gyaltshab''
Jigme Dorji Dasho Jigme Palden Dorji (14 December 1919 – 6 April 1964) was a Bhutanese politician and member of the Dorji family. By marriage, he was also a member of the House of Wangchuck. The brother-in-law of Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, Dorji was c ...
, as well as four half-sisters and three half-brothers. After completing his higher secondary studies at Yangchenphug High School, Khesar was educated in the United States at
Phillips Academy ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover, Massachusetts, Andover , stat ...
in
Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andov ...
and at
Cushing Academy Cushing Academy is a private, coeducational college-preparatory school for boarding and day students in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, United States. It serves approximately 400 students in grades 9–12 and a postgraduate year. History Cushing Aca ...
in Ashburnham, where he finished high school. He then studied at
Wheaton College Wheaton College may refer to: * Wheaton College (Illinois), a private Christian, coeducational, liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois * Wheaton College (Massachusetts) Wheaton College is a private liberal arts college in Norton, Massachus ...
in
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
before completing the Diplomatic Studies Programme at
Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the ...
.


Crown Prince

The Crown Prince, popularly known to the people of Bhutan as 'Dasho Khesar', accompanied his father on his many tours throughout the kingdom to meet and speak to the people. He also officially represented Bhutan on several international events. On 8 May 2002, he represented Bhutan at the 27th UN General Assembly and made his first speech to the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
, addressing issues related to the welfare of millions of children around the world. He attended Thai
King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...
Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej ( th, ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช; ; ; ( Sanskrit: ''bhūmi·bala atulya·teja'' - "might of the land, unparalleled brilliance"); 5 December 192713 October 2016), conferred with the title King Bhumibol the Grea ...
's 60th Anniversary Celebrations on 12–13 June 2006 in
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...
along with royals from 25 countries. On 25 June 2002 the Crown Prince was awarded the
Red Scarf The red scarf is a neckerchief worn by young pioneers of several countries during the communist era. In the Soviet Union it was known as ''pionerskiy galstuk'' (пионерский галстук, i. e. pioneer's neckerchief), in Vietnam as ''kh ...
by his father.


Trongsa Penlop

On 31 October 2004, Khesar was installed as the 16th
Trongsa Penlop Penlop of Trongsa (Dzongkha: ཀྲོང་གསར་དཔོན་སློབ་; Wylie: ''Krong-gsar dpon-slob''), also called Chhoetse Penlop (Dzongkha: ཆོས་རྩེ་དཔོན་སློབ་; Wylie: ''Chos-rtse dpon-slob ...
in Trongsa Dzong. The institution of the Trongsa Penlop, started by ''Zhabdrung'' Ngawang Namgyal in 1647, signifies the true heritage to the Bhutanese Throne and the investiture ceremony of the Trongsa Penlop is the formal declaration of this status of the Crown Prince.


Ascension to the throne

In December 2005, 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 ...
announced his intention to abdicate in his son's favour in 2008, and that he would begin handing over responsibility to him immediately. On 9 December 2006, the former king issued a Royal Edict announcing his abdication, and transferred the throne to Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who was officially crowned on 6 November 2008, in
Punakha Punakha ( dz, སྤུ་ན་ཁ་) is the administrative centre of Punakha dzongkhag, one of the 20 districts of Bhutan. Punakha was the capital of Bhutan and the seat of government until 1955, when the capital was moved to Thimphu. It is abo ...
. Religious ceremonies and public celebrations were also held at Tashichho Dzong and
Changlimithang Stadium Changlimithang Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Thimphu, Bhutan, which serves as the national stadium. It is predominantly used for association football, football matches and is the home of the Bhutan national football team, other national se ...
in
Thimphu Thimphu (; dz, ཐིམ་ཕུག ) is the capital and largest city of Bhutan. It is situated in the western central part of Bhutan, and the surrounding valley is one of Bhutan's ''dzongkhags'', the Thimphu District. The ancient capital city ...
. The
coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of o ...
ceremony comprised an ancient and colourful ritual, attended by few selected foreign friends of the royal family and dignitaries, including the then-
President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murm ...
,
Pratibha Patil Prathibha DeviSingh Patil (born 19 December 1934) is an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the 12th president of India spanning from 2007 to 2012. She is the first woman to become the president of India. A member of the Indian National ...
. To welcome Khesar as king of Bhutan, people painted street signs, hung festive banners and decorated traffic circles with fresh flowers. He received white, yellow, red, green, and blue silk scarves.


Marriage


Royal wedding

As he opened the session of
parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
on Friday, 20 May 2011, the king announced his engagement to Jetsun Pema, born in
Thimphu Thimphu (; dz, ཐིམ་ཕུག ) is the capital and largest city of Bhutan. It is situated in the western central part of Bhutan, and the surrounding valley is one of Bhutan's ''dzongkhags'', the Thimphu District. The ancient capital city ...
on 4 June 1990. They were married on 13 October 2011 in Punakha Dzong. The wedding was Bhutan's largest media event ever. The ceremony was held in Punakha, followed by formal visits to different parts of the country. During the ceremony the king also received the Phoenix Crown of the
Druk Gyaltsuen The Druk Gyaltsuen (lit. Dragon Queen) is the Queen consort of the Kingdom of Bhutan. In the Dzongkha language, Bhutan is known as ''Drukyul'' which translates as "The Land of the Thunder Dragon". Thus, while Queens of Bhutan are known as ''D ...
(Dragon queen) from the most sacred Machhen temple of the Dzong and bestowed it on Jetsun Pema, formally proclaiming her queen of the kingdom of Bhutan. The wedding was held in traditional style with the "blessings of the guardian deities".


Children

On 11 November 2015, it was announced that the king and queen of Bhutan were expecting their first child, a son, early in 2016. They announced the arrival of their son
Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck ( dz, འཇིགས་མེད་རྣམ་རྒྱལ་དབང་ཕྱུག་, ; born 5 February 2016) is the first child and heir apparent of King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan and his wife, Quee ...
, who was born in Lingkana Palace in
Thimphu Thimphu (; dz, ཐིམ་ཕུག ) is the capital and largest city of Bhutan. It is situated in the western central part of Bhutan, and the surrounding valley is one of Bhutan's ''dzongkhags'', the Thimphu District. The ancient capital city ...
, on 5 February 2016. On 17 December 2019, it was reported that they were expecting their second child, to be born in spring 2020. Their second son was born in Lingkana Palace in
Thimphu Thimphu (; dz, ཐིམ་ཕུག ) is the capital and largest city of Bhutan. It is situated in the western central part of Bhutan, and the surrounding valley is one of Bhutan's ''dzongkhags'', the Thimphu District. The ancient capital city ...
on 19 March 2020. They formally uploaded the photo of their second son on 31 March 2020, through the official Facebook page. On 30 June 2020, the Royal Family announced that the second Gyalsey had been named
Jigme Ugyen Wangchuck Jigme Ugyen Wangchuck ( dz, འཇིགས་མེད་ཨོ་རྒྱན་དབང་ཕྱུག, born 19 March 2020) is the second child of King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan and his wife, Queen Jetsun Pema. He is the sec ...
, and would be known as His Royal Highness ''Gyalsey'' Ugyen Wangchuck.


As king


Democratisation

The young king began his reign overseeing the
democratisation Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a full ...
of Bhutan by presiding over the last sessions of the
parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
where electoral laws, land reform and other important issues were debated. He said that the responsibility of this generation of Bhutanese was to ensure the success of democracy. He traveled extensively to explain and discuss the Draft
Constitution of Bhutan The Constitution of Bhutan (Dzongkha: འབྲུག་གི་རྩ་ཁྲིམས་ཆེན་མོ་; Wylie:'' 'Druk-gi cha-thrims-chen-mo'') was enacted 18 July 2008 by the Royal Government of Bhutan. The Constitution was thoroughl ...
with the people and to encourage participation in the upcoming democratic exercises. He continues such visits, speaking mainly to young people on the need for Bhutanese to strive for higher standards in
education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...
,
business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." Having a business name does not separ ...
,
civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
, and the need for people of a small country to work harder than those of others. On 17 February 2021, he signed the abolishment of anti-homosexuality laws into law, effectively decriminalising same-sex activity in the kingdom, after the repeal of such laws had been approved by both houses in 2020. Tashi Tsheten, of the LGBT organisation ''Queer Voices of Bhutan'', welcomed the king's decision as a milestone and expressed gratitude to the king and every politician involved in making the decriminalisation possible. Additionally, Tea Braun of the organisation Human Dignity Trust said that Bhutan had made a "step forward" by legalising homosexual activity.


Diplomacy

The king signed a new
treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal per ...
of friendship with India in February 2007, replacing the treaty of 1949. Many government initiatives were undertaken by the new king with a view to strengthen the system in preparation for democratic changes in 2008. The
Constitution of Bhutan The Constitution of Bhutan (Dzongkha: འབྲུག་གི་རྩ་ཁྲིམས་ཆེན་མོ་; Wylie:'' 'Druk-gi cha-thrims-chen-mo'') was enacted 18 July 2008 by the Royal Government of Bhutan. The Constitution was thoroughl ...
was adopted on 18 July 2008 after legislation dictated that the National Council and the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...
was to be elected democratically.


Land reform

The king's first landmark project after his formal coronation was launching the National Cadastral Resurvey in March 2009, aimed at resolving long-standing issues of excess land that affect every Bhutanese household. A variation of land reform focuses on improving the lives of people living in remote and difficult areas, with the Rehabilitation Project. The pilot Rehabilitation Project at Khinadang in Pemagatshel was initiated in June 2011, and inaugurated by Prince ''Gyaltshab'' Jigme Dorji Wangchuck on 28 October 2014. The Project resettled people living in less accessible areas to villages, and provided them with basic amenities and services, as well as support in agriculture. The project saw tremendous success, and similar projects are in the pipeline in other parts of Bhutan.


Kidu

One of the most important and ongoing works of the king involves Kidu, a tradition based on the rule of a Dharma king whose sacred duty is to care for his people. The people can access Kidu in several ways: by applying to the Office of the Royal Chamberlain, which accepts applications during working hours; by sending applications through Dzongkhag Kidu Officers in every district, whose responsibility is to collect such applications as well as identify people who need help; and by appealing to the king directly. To give the people the opportunity for direct appeal, the king on his numerous road trips across the country stops for every potential appellant along the road. There are several Kidu schemes designed to help certain groups of people, such as students unable to afford even the free education available in the country, elderly citizens, and those requiring medical treatment. The king has also continued the tradition of giving state land to landless farmers around the country. The ongoing project takes him to remote villages and communities. Kidu includes providing immediate assistance to victims of natural disasters. The king personally supervised the rebuilding efforts following major earthquakes and floods in 2009 and 2011. In 2012, the king granted Nu.100 million from the Armed Forces to the Zhung Dratshang for the Dzong Reconstruction Fund, as on 24 June, the historic Wangduephodrang Dzong was destroyed by fire. As Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, he commanded the armed forces and to the site immediately, and with help from dzongkhag officials and citizens, many things were saved from the fire.


DeSuung Training Programme

The king initiated military-style training for volunteers known as the DeSuung Training Programme, DeSuung meaning "Guardians of Peace", in 2011, on the request of the youth. The programme aims to equip volunteers with the skill to provide assistance during emergencies, and has been hugely successful, with more than 3000 volunteers having completed their training and volunteering for public events and emergencies. Graduates of the program are known as DeSuups and wear orange jumpsuits. They live by the DeSuung Honour Code, which is to "keep service to their nation before their own safety and comfort".


Gyalsuung National Service

In December 2019, during the 112th National Day, the king announced the initiation of a one-year national service for all eighteen-year-olds, starting from 2022. The training includes three months of military-style training and a nine-month educational course on agriculture, entrepreneurship, computers, coding and health sciences.


Amnesty

The
Constitution of Bhutan The Constitution of Bhutan (Dzongkha: འབྲུག་གི་རྩ་ཁྲིམས་ཆེན་མོ་; Wylie:'' 'Druk-gi cha-thrims-chen-mo'') was enacted 18 July 2008 by the Royal Government of Bhutan. The Constitution was thoroughl ...
empowers the king to grant amnesty to prisoners. In 2014 he pardoned 45 prisoners who had been imprisoned for possessing an excessive amount of tobacco, following an amendment of the Tobacco Control Act of Bhutan 2010 by the
Parliament of Bhutan The Parliament of Bhutan ( dz, རྒྱལ་ཡོངས་ཚོགས་ཁང་ ''gyelyong tshokhang'') consists of the King of Bhutan together with a bicameral parliament.Constitution: Art. 1, § 3; Art. 10 This bicameral parliament i ...
, since the amended law could not be enforced retroactively, and previous offenders who would not be liable now would still be tried under previous laws. The Royal Pardon was granted to those who were not repeat offenders and had good prison records.


Public perception and popularity abroad

The "People's king", like his father, enjoys exceptionally warm relations with India. He has visited India on several occasions, and was invited as the Chief Guest for India's 64th Republic Day celebrations in 2013. Following his 2006 visit to
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
as crown prince, the king has been immensely popular in Thailand. The number of Thai tourists visiting Bhutan has increased steadily since the visit. In November 2011, the king and Queen Jetsun Pema made a state visit to Japan; they were the first state guests to Japan since the 2011 earthquake. It was reported that the Japanese were fascinated by the king and queen of Bhutan. In March 2015, the king and queen were among the foreign dignitaries who attended the funeral of
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
's former Prime Minister
Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), born Harry Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean lawyer and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1990, and Secretary-General o ...
. Also, the king and the queen attended the funeral of King
Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej ( th, ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช; ; ; ( Sanskrit: ''bhūmi·bala atulya·teja'' - "might of the land, unparalleled brilliance"); 5 December 192713 October 2016), conferred with the title King Bhumibol the Grea ...
of
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
in October 2017 and the enthronement ceremony of Emperor
Naruhito is the current Emperor of Japan. He acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne on 1 May 2019, beginning the Reiwa era, following the abdication of his father, Akihito. He is the 126th monarch according to Japan's traditional order of succession ...
and Empress
Masako Masako (written: , , or in hiragana) is a feminine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: * *, (1888–1940), 6th daughter of Emperor Meiji *, Japanese long-distance runner * Masako Ebisu (born 1945), Japanese voice actress * ...
of Japan in October 2019.


Foreign honours

* : Knight Grand Cross of the Most Illustrious Order of Queen Salote Tupou III (14/05/2010).


Ancestry


See also

*
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 ...
* Jigme Khesar Strict Nature Reserve


References


External links


Official Facebook PageBhutan 2008 Coronation of the Fifth King (Official Website)BBC, In pictures: Bhutan coronationOf Rainbows and Clouds: The Life of Yab Ugyen Dorji As Told to His Daughter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wangchuck, Jigme Khesar Namgyel 1980 births Living people Bhutanese Buddhists Bhutanese monarchs Buddhist monarchs Wangchuck dynasty People from Kathmandu Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Wheaton College (Massachusetts) alumni Members of the Inner Temple National Defence College, India alumni