List of rulers of Bhutan

King of Bhutan
Incumbent
Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck
since 9 December 2006
5th Dragon King (Druk Gyalpo)
Details
StyleHis Majesty
Heir presumptiveJigme Namgyel Wangchuck
First monarchUgyen Wangchuck
Formation17 December 1907
ResidenceSamteling Palace, Thimphu

Bhutan was founded and unified as a country by Ngawang Namgyal, 1st Zhabdrung Rinpoche in the mid–17th century. After his death in 1651, Bhutan nominally followed his recommended "dual system of government". Under the dual system, government control was split between a secular leader, the Druk Desi (འབྲུག་སྡེ་སྲིད་, a.k.a. Deb Raja);[nb 1] and a religious leader, the Je Khenpo (རྗེ་མཁན་པོ་).

Both the Druk Desi and Je Khenpo were under the nominal authority of the Zhabdrung Rinpoche, a reincarnation of Ngawang Namgyal. In practice however, the Zhabdrung was often a child under the control of the Druk Desi, and regional penlops often administered their districts in defiance of the power of the Druk Desis until the rise of the unified Wangchuck dynasty in 1907.[1]

Since the rise of the unified Wangchuck family in 1907, the Druk Gyalpo (འབྲུག་རྒྱལ་པོ་; lit. "Dragon King") have been the head of state of the Kingdom of Bhutan.


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  1. ^ Worden, Robert L.; Savada, Andrea Matles (ed.) (1991). "Chapter 6 – Bhutan: Administrative Integration and Conflict with Tibet, 1651–1728". Nepal and Bhutan: Country Studies (3rd ed.). Federal Research Division, United States Library of Congress. ISBN 0-8444-0777-1. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)

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