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Jigme Palden Dorji

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Jigme Palden Dorji
1st Prime Minister of Bhutan
In office
1952 – 6 April 1964
MonarchJigme Dorji
Preceded byPosition Established
Succeeded byJigme Thinley
Personal details
Born(1919-12-14)14 December 1919
Bhutan House, Kalimpong, India
Died6 April 1964(1964-04-06) (aged 44)
Phuntsoling Guesthouse, Bhutan
Political partyIndependent
SpouseAshi Tsering Yangzom
Children4 (inc. Paljor Dorji)
Parent(s)Sonam Topgay Dorji
Chuni Wangmo

Dasho Jigme Palden Dorji[citation needed] (14 December 1919[1] – 6 April 1964)[2] was a Bhutanese politician and member of the Dorji family. By marriage, he was also a member of the House of Wangchuck.[3]

The brother-in-law of Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, Dorji was close to his kinsman and accompanied the future king when he lived in the United Kingdom in 1950.[4]

Appointed Chief Minister (Gongzim) in 1952,[citation needed] he became the first man to hold the title Prime Minister of Bhutan (Lyonchen).[citation needed] This followed the upgrading of the old position in 1958 as part of a wider series of reforms by Jigme Dorji Wangchuck.[5] As brother-in-law of the Dragon King of Bhutan Dorji helped to drive the king's modernisation policies. However his reforms antagonised both the military and the religious institutions leading to a corporal in the army assassinating him in April 1964. Namgyal Bahadur, head of the Royal Bhutan Army, was amongst those executed for the murder plot.[5]

Honours

  • King Mahendra Investiture Medal (Kingdom of Nepal, 2 May 1956).[citation needed]

Ancestry

References

  1. ^ Bhutan, 100 Years of Wangchuck Vision. Written by Shubhi Sood
  2. ^ Lindsay Brown, Bradley Mayhew, Stan Armington, Richard Whitecross, Bhutan, 2007, p. 40
  3. ^ BHUTAN (Kingdom) Archived 2009-05-09 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Grooming of the Father of Modern Bhutan". Archived from the original on 2009-07-09. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
  5. ^ a b Modernization under Jigme Dorji, 1952-72
Political offices
Preceded by
office created
Prime Minister of Bhutan
1952–1964
Succeeded by