His Majesty Druk Gyalpo Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, the Third Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan, was born on 2 May 1929 at the Thruepang Palace in Trongsa.
Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, born in 1929, ascended the throne at
the age of 23. He is known as the Father of Modern Bhutan. Like his father, he
was educated in English, Hindi and Buddhist principles. Additionally, he spent
six months in England during his youth.
Bhutan’s isolated journey in the world ended with the third
King’s reign. He recognized the need to establish international relations for
the world to recognize Bhutan as a country and to protect the country’s
sovereignty. The King engaged foreign nations in the development of Bhutan and
invited European nations to be involved in developmental projects.
In 1962, he joined the Colombo Plan where Bhutan received
technical assistance for infrastructure development and educational
scholarships. In 1971, under King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck’s reign, Bhutan became
a member of the United Nations.
In his early years after his ascension to the throne, the
King understood that he needed to implement socio-economic reforms to ensure
that Bhutan could develop further. In 1956, he took the big step of ending
feudalism, redistributed land to the landless while monasteries gave up land in
exchange for financial support from the government. In 1961, the King drafted
the country’s first five-year economic development plan, a practice which
Bhutan is still following to date.
The King was far-sighted and learnt from history that
centralized power was not the way forward for Bhutan to continue enjoying peace
and stability. During his reign, he set up a modern judicial system and the
country’s first Council of Ministers. The King also established a National
Assembly (tshogdu) who had the power to remove the King or his successors with
a two-third majority, allowing Bhutan to take the first step towards democracy.
His reforms and international relations opened the window for
Bhutan to the outside world and started a slow but steady journey towards a
system of democracy.
King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck passed away on 21 July 1972, aged
43, while receiving medical treatment in Nairobi, Kenya. He was succeeded by
his son, Jigme Singye Wangchuck.
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