Jigme Palden 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.
Jigme Palden Dorji | |
|---|---|
| 1st Prime Minister of Bhutan | |
| In office 1952 – 6 April 1964 | |
| Monarch | Jigme Dorji Wangchuck |
| Preceded by | Position Established |
| Succeeded by | Lhendup Dorji |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 December 1919 Bhutan House, Kalimpong, India |
| Died | 6 April 1964 (aged 44) Phuntsoling Guesthouse, Bhutan |
| Manner of death | Assassination (gunshot wound) |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse | Ashi Tsering Yangzom |
| Children | 4 (inc. Paljor Dorji) |
| Parent(s) | Sonam Topgay Dorji Chuni Wangmo |
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. He was educated at North Point in Darjeeling and the Bishop Cotton School in Shimla.
In 1928, at the age of nine, Jigme Palden Dorji was appointed the Trungpa (Administrator) of Haa Dzongkhag and in 1953, he succeeded his father Raja Tobgay, after his death, as Bhutan Agent to Kalimpong. He became the first man to hold the title Prime Minister of Bhutan (Lyonchen). This followed the upgrading of the old position in 1958 as part of a wider series of reforms by Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. 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. Brigadier Bahadur Namgyal, head of the Royal Bhutan Army, was amongst those executed for the murder plot.