''Lyonpo'' Jigme Yoser Thinley (

Dzongkha Dzongkha (; ) is a Tibeto-Burman languages, Tibeto-Burman language that is the official and national language of Bhutan. It is written using the Tibetan script. The word means "the language of the fortress", from ' "fortress" and ' "language ...

: འཇིགས་མེད་འོད་ཟེར་འཕྲིན་ལས་; Wylie:'' 'Jigs-med 'Od-zer 'Phrin-las'') (born 9 September 1952) is a Bhutanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Bhutan for three nonconsecutive terms, from 20 July 1998 to 9 July 1999, 30 August 2003 to 18 August 2004 and 9 April 2008 to 28 April 2013.

Biography

Thinley was born in Bumthang and joined the civil service in 1976 upon receiving a graduate degree from The Pennsylvania State University. He received an undergraduate degree from St. Stephen's College, Delhi. In February 1987, Thinley was awarded the title of '' Dasho'' and the Red Scarf, and in 1990, under the zonal system, he became administrator of the Eastern Zone. He then became secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1992 before being appointed as Deputy Minister of Home Affairs in January 1994, at which time he was also awarded the Orange Scarf. Later in 1994, he was appointed as Bhutan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations office and other international organizations in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. Prior to the beginning of Bhutanese democracy, he was Prime Minister twice, from 20 July 1998 to 9 July 1999, and from 30 August 2003 to 20 August 2004. During this period, chairmanship of the council was based on rotation once per year, with the order of rotation decided by the number of votes secured during the time of election to the council. Jigme was also the

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

of Bhutan from 1998 until 2003 and subsequently served as Minister of Home and Cultural Affairs. In March 2008, he stood as leader of the political party Druk Phuensum Tshogpa in Bhutan's first democratic election. His party won 45 of the 47 seats in the National Assembly of Bhutan, which enabled Jigme Thinley to become Bhutan's first ever elected Prime Minister. He took office on 9 April. Thinley blamed the global economic crisis of 2008–2009 on "insatiable human greed" and stressed the need to instead focus on the Bhutanese notion of

gross national happiness Gross National Happiness, (GNH; ) sometimes called Gross Domestic Happiness (GDH), is a philosophy that guides the government of Bhutan. It includes an index used to measure a population's collective happiness and well-being. The Gross National Ha ...

. His government works to base its policies on gross national happiness rather than purely economic considerations. In July 2009, Thinley became a member of the

SNV Netherlands Development Organisation SNV is a mission-driven global development partner, established in Netherlands, the Netherlands in 1965. Inspired by the principles and objectives set out Sustainable Development Goals, SNV is committed to building resilient agri-food systems th ...

's International Advisory Board.

Personal life

His son Palden married Princess '' Ashi'' Kesang Choden Wangchuck on 11 November 2008. His wife ''Aum'' Rinsy Dem died in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

on 28 November 2018.Twitter
/ref> He has honorary doctorates from KIIT University and University of Louvain (UCLouvain).

Honours

He has honorary doctorates from KIIT University and University of Louvain (UCLouvain).

References

External links

* (63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly) * , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Thinley, Lyonpo Jigme 1952 births Foreign ministers of Bhutan Living people People from Bumthang District Pennsylvania State University alumni Permanent representatives of Bhutan to the United Nations in Geneva Prime ministers of Bhutan Druk Phuensum Tshogpa MNAs Culture ministers of Bhutan Interior ministers of Bhutan