Lily Wangchuk or Lily Wangchhuk (born October 15, 1972) is a Bhutanese politician, diplomat and activist. A diplomat between 1994 and 2008, in November 2012 she became the first Bhutanese woman to be appointed president of a political party. [1]
Lily Wangchuk or Lily Wangchhuk (born October 15, 1972) is a Bhutanese politician, diplomat and activist. A diplomat between 1994 and 2008, in November 2012 she became the first Bhutanese woman to be appointed president of a political party. [1]
Wangchuk was born into a noble family. Her grandfather, Rinzin Dorji, served as the last Daga Penlop under the second King Jigme Wangchuk and third King Jigme Dorji Wangchuk. Her father died when she was very young and her mother left the family to become a nun. She studied International Diplomacy at the Australian National University, and Human Rights and International Law at the Indian Academy of International Law and Diplomacy. She further studied Political Science at Miranda College in India. [2]
Wangchuk began work as a diplomat in 1994, [3] and in 2003 she was a recipient of the Lions Club Award for Outstanding Diplomat for her work with Bhutanese bilateral relations with India. [2] After a 12-year career as a diplomat, [4] she took time off to travel across Bhutan, visiting all 20 districts and the remotest areas of the country, during which she observed the socio-economic challenges facing common people and inequalities in development. [1]
Wangchuk once served as the executive director of the Bhutan Media Foundation (BMF) and head of the People's Democratic Party's women wing. [2] Soon after leaving BMF to pursue a career as a politician, in October 2011 she was diagnosed with endometrial cancer and overcame the disease in six months. [2] In November 2012, Wangchuk became the first Bhutanese woman to be appointed president of a political party, Druk Chirwang Tshogpa, [2] a party which was formally recognized in early 2013. She was a candidate for presidency during the 2013 elections, [1] and represents North Thimphu Constituency. [3] Wangchuk cites Aung San Suu Kyi as an inspiration in her leadership. [1]
She ran for the seat of the National Assembly of Bhutan as a candidate of Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) from North Thimphu constituency [5] in the 2018 Bhutanese National Assembly election, but was unsuccessful. She came in second, receiving 2,102 votes and losing the seat to Dechen Wangmo. [6]
Bhutan's early history is steeped in mythology and remains obscure. Some of the structures provide evidence that the region has been settled as early as 2000 BC. According to a legend it was ruled by a Cooch-Behar king, Sangaldip, around the 7th century BC, but not much is known prior to the introduction of Tibetan Buddhism in the 9th century, when turmoil in Tibet forced many monks to flee to Bhutan. In the 12th century, the Drukpa Kagyupa school was established and remains the dominant form of Buddhism in Bhutan today. The country's political history is intimately tied to its religious history and relations among the various monastic schools and monasteries.
"Druk Tsenden" is the national anthem of Bhutan. Adopted in 1953, the lyrics were written by Dolop Droep Namgay and possibly translated into English by Dasho Gyaldun Thinley. The accompanying music was composed by Aku Tongmi.
Jigme Dorji Wangchuck was the 3rd Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan.
The development of Bhutanese democracy has been marked by the active encouragement and participation of reigning Bhutanese monarchs since the 1950s, beginning with legal reforms such as the abolition of slavery, and culminating in the enactment of Bhutan's Constitution. The first democratic elections in Bhutan began in 2007, and all levels of government had been democratically elected by 2011. These elections included Bhutan's first ever partisan National Assembly election. Democratization in Bhutan has been marred somewhat by the intervening large-scale expulsion and flight of Bhutanese refugees during the 1990s; the subject remains somewhat taboo in Bhutanese politics.
Druk Phuensum Tshogpa is one of the major political parties in Bhutan. It was formed on 25 July 2007 as a merger of the All People's Party and the Bhutan People's United Party, which were both short-lived. The working committee of the merged entity, headed by the former home minister, Jigmi Yoezer Thinley, decided on the name for the new party. On 15 August 2007, Jigmi Yoezer Thinley was elected president of the party, and the party applied for registration, thus becoming the second political party in Bhutan to do so. On 2 October 2007, the Election Commission of Bhutan registered the party. On 24 March 2008, the party won the first general election held in Bhutan. The party secured 45 of the 47 seats to the National Assembly. The party tends to be more popular in the east of the country.
Pema Dorji was a Bhutanese doctor (drungtsho) of traditional Bhutanese and Tibetan medicine, was the first person to institutionalize traditional medicine in Bhutan. He was the founding director of the National Indigenous Medicine Hospital and of the Institute of Indigenous Medicine in the capital Thimphu, and the key person behind the establishment of the Health Department's indigenous clinics and dispensaries in all 20 districts of Bhutan which make available free treatment and medicine to all the citizens of Bhutan.
Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa, formerly the Social Democratic Party, is one of the five registered political parties in Bhutan. It was registered on 20 January 2013. The DNT has been Bhutan's governing party since the 2018 National Assembly election, in which the party won a majority of the seats.
AumDorji Choden is a Bhutanese politician. She was appointed minister of Bhutan's Works and Human Settlement Ministry in 2013, making her the first woman to serve as a minister in Bhutanese cabinet.
Ashi Phuntsho Choden (1911–2003) was the Queen consort of Bhutan.
Ugyen Wangdi is a Bhutanese politician who is currently a Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) member of the National Assembly of Bhutan since October 2018. Previously he was member of the National Assembly from 2013 to 2018.
Kezang Wangmo is a Bhutanese politician, actress, poet, singer, dancer and goodwill ambassador for organic farming in Bhutan. Kezang was born in Paro District, western part of Bhutan, where she learned to act at her school.
Lotay Tshering is a Bhutanese politician and surgeon who is the current prime minister of Bhutan, in office since 7 November 2018. He has also been the president of Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa since 14 May 2018.
Tshencho Wangdi is a Bhutanese politician who is the current Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Bhutan, in office since November 2018. He has been a member of the National Assembly of Bhutan, since October 2018.
Dasho Dechen Wangmo is a Bhutanese politician who has been Minister for Health since November 2018. She has been a member of the National Assembly of Bhutan, since October 2018.
Jurmi Wangchuk is a Bhutanese politician who has been a member of the National Assembly of Bhutan, since October 2018.
Karma Lhamo is a Bhutanese educator and politician. She was elected to the National Assembly in 2008, becoming one of its first female members elected under universal suffrage.
The Druk Thuendrel Tshogpa is a political party in Bhutan. It was founded in 2022 by Dr. Chenga Tshering, a former Thrimshing candidate for the DPT. The party is headed by Kinga Tshering, a former member of parliament who represented the DPT from North Thimphu constituency following the 2013 elections.
The Bhutan Media Foundation is a Civil Society Organisation (CSO) launched in Thimphu on 21 February 2010 with the mandate to foster the growth of a strong, responsible media and contribute to the social, economic and political growth of the nation. While it was established under Royal Charter by His Majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the charter was written by media professionals, outlining what they believed was needed in an independent media-focused CSO. An editorial in Bhutan Today, described BMF as "a beacon of hope" in the development of the fledgling media landscape.