Jigme Palden Dorji

Who was Jigme Palden Dorji?

Jigme Palden Dorji was a Bhutanese politician and member of the Dorji family. By marriage, he was also a member of the House of Wangchuck.

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.

Appointed Chief minister in 1952, he became the first man to hold the title Prime Minister of Bhutan. 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 polices. However his reforms antagonised both the military and the religious institutions leading to a corporal in the army assassinating him in April 1964. Namgyal Bahadur, head of the Royal Bhutan Army, was amongst those executed for the murder plot.