Ugyen Wangchuck

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Maharaja Sri Sir Gongsar Ugyen Wangchuck (or Deb Nagpo), GCIE, KCSI (1861–1926) was the first king of Bhutan from 1907 to 1926. He was the penlop (governor) of Trongsa. From his power base in central Bhutan, Ugyen Wangchuck defeated his political enemies and united the country following several civil wars and rebellions in 1882–1885.

In what was an epochal year for the country, in 1907 Ugyen Wangchuck was unanimously chosen as the hereditary monarch of the country by the people at Punakha, the Capital of Bhutan at the time.

For his services to the Francis Younghusband expedition to Lhasa, Tibet, he was knighted by the British in 1904. He was appointed Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE) in the 1921 New Year Honours,^[1] having already been appointed Knight Commander (KCIE).

Preceded by Choley Yeshe Ngodub (as Maharaja)

Dragon King of Bhutan 1907–1926

Succeeded by Jigme Wangchuck

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] External links

• More about Sir Ugyen Wangchuk Wangchuk
• Sir Gongsar Ugyen Wangchuk Biography
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