Ugyen Wangchuck

Ugyen Wangchuck
1st Druk Gyalpo
Reign	17 December 1907 – 26 August 1926
Coronation	17 December 1907
Predecessor	None (Hereditary Monarchy Created)
Successor	Jigme Wangchuck
Born	1862 Bumthang, Wangduecholing Palace
Died	26 August 1926 (aged 63–64)
Burial	Cremated at Kurjey Lhakhang
Spouse	Ashi Tsundue Pema Lhamo
House	Wangchuck
Father	Jigme Namgyal
Mother	Ashi Pema Choki
Religion	Buddhism

Kings of the House of Wangchuck
	Ugyen Reign:1907-1926
	Jigme Reign:1926-1952
Jigme Dorji Reign:1952-1972
	Jigme Singye Reign:1972-2006
	Jigme Khesar Namgyel Reign:2006-Incumbent

Gongsa Ugyen Wangchuck (Dzongkha: ཨོ་རྒྱན་དབང་ཕྱུག, Wylie: o rgyan dbang phyug, 1862–1926) was the first Druk Gyalpo (King of Bhutan) from 1907–1926. In his lifetime he made great efforts to unite the country and gain the trust of the people.

Ugyen Wangchuck was born in Wangdicholing Palace in 1862 and died in 1926 in Phodrang Thinley Rapten. Both of these places are in Choekhor valley in Bumthang. King Ugyen Wangchuck was a farsighted statesman and strategist. He was also a pious practitioner, particularly during his later years. He was apprenticed at the court of Desi Jigme Namgyal in the art of leadership and warfare at a very young age. Because he grew up in an embattled period, Ugyen Wangchuck was trained as a skilled combatant. At the age of 17, he headed his troops in the battle against Paro Ponlop Tshewang Norbu. When Ugyen Wangchuck was barely 21, his father Desi Jigme Namgyel died, leaving him to strike his own role as a leader in the country. In 1885, following the death of his father, when he was 23 years old, he led 2400 troops in a series of battles that culminated in Changlimethang.

Bhutan had been ruled under 57 successive Druk Desis for 256 years until Buddhist monarchy was established. Ugyen Wangchuck founded the monarchy in 1907, although he had been more or less the actual ruler for almost a decade. In British records, he is referred as the Tongsa Penlop – the ruler of Bhutan. On 17 December 1907, Tongsa Penlop Ugyen Wangchuck was elected unanimously by the representatives of the people, the officials and the clergy and enthroned as the first hereditary King of Bhutan in Punakha dzong. A legal document on the institution of monarchy was attested with signet-rings and thumbprints, on that day. British political officer, Sir Claude White (1853–1918), represented the British government at the enthronement ceremony. Since that day, 17 December is celebrated as the National Day of Bhutan.

Ugyen Wangchuck, then Tongsa Penlop, joined the Younghusband Expedition to Tibet in 1904, as a mediator between Britain and Tibet. His next official visit abroad took place in 1906 when he travelled to Kolkata to meet the Prince of Wales. Penlop Ugyen Wangchuck was not yet formally the King, but the role he took clearly suggests that he was indeed the ruler for all practical purpose for many years before he was crowned King in 1907. King Ugyen Wangchuck’s last visit to India took place in 1911, when he went to Delhi to meet King George V (1865–1936), who was the Prince of Wales when they met earlier in 1906 in Kolkata, the seat of Viceroy of India. The British Political Officer for Bhutan was Sir John Claude White until 1908 when he was succeeded by Charles Alfred Bell (1870–1945). John Claude White developed a deep respect for King Ugyen Wangchuck, and wrote: "I have never met a native I liked and respected more than I do Sir Ugyen. He was upright, honest, open and straightforward." White also took the photographs at the King's 1907 coronation. His Majesty King Ugyen Wangchuck was acutely conscious that Bhutan must to be protected through times of regional conflict and rivalries. His Majesty was exquisitely farsighted in updating the treaty of 1865 in 1910, with an additional clause. The new clause was that Bhutan would consult British India in its dealing with third countries. The clause was drawn up in the context of the British suspicion about the influence of the Chinese and Russians in Tibet, and beyond.

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