Ugyen Wangchuck

king of Bhutan (1862-1926)

Gongsa Ugyen Wangchuck(Dzongkha: , Wylie: o rgyan dbang phyug; 1862-1926) was the first King of Bhutan from 1907 to 1926. He was born in 1862 to Jigme Namgyal, Penlop (governor) of Trongsa and Ashi Pema Choki. He succeeded his father as Penlop of Trongsa. From his power base in central Bhutan, Ugyen Wangchuck defeated his political enemies and united the country following several civil wars and rebellions in 1882–1885.

Ugyen Wangchuck
1st King of Bhutan
ReignDecember 17, 1907–August 21, 1926
PredecessorNone (Hereditary Monarchy Created)
SuccessorJigme Wangchuck
Born1862
Bumthang, Wangduecholing Palace
DiedAugust 7, 1926 (aged 64)
SpouseAshi Tsundue Lhamo
IssueJigme Wangchuck

Lemo Wangchuck

Lhadron Wangchuck
HouseWangchuck Dynasty
FatherJigme Namgyal
MotherAshi Pema Choki

In what was an epochal year for the country, in 1907 Ugyen Wangchuck was unanimously chosen as the hereditary monarch of the country by the people at Punakha, the old Capital of Bhutan.

For his services in mediating between the British and Tibetans during the Younghusband Expedition to Lhasa, Tibet,[1] he was knighted by the British in 1904. He was appointed Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE) in the 1921 New Year Honours,[2] having already been appointed Knight Commander (KCIE) in 1904.

Honours

change

Footnotes

change
  1. Rose, Leo E. (1977). The Politics of Bhutan. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-8014-0909-7.
  2. "No. 32178". The London Gazette (invalid |supp= (help)). 1 January 1921.

Other websites

change
Ugyen Wangchuck
Born: 1861 Died: 26 August 1926
Regnal titles
Preceded by
None
(Hereditary Monarchy Created)
First King of Bhutan
17 December 1907 - 21 August 1926
Succeeded by
Jigme Wangchuck