Lam Dorji (23 October 1933 – 27 April 2020) was the Chief Operations Officer (COO) of the
Royal Bhutan Army
The Royal Bhutan Army (RBA; ) is a branch of the armed forces of the Kingdom of Bhutan responsible for maintaining the country's territorial integrity and sovereignty against security threats. The King of Bhutan is the Supreme Commander in Chie ...
(RBA) from 1964 to 2005. He was succeeded by
Batoo Tshering on 1 November 2005.
Military career
Lam Dorji was born in
Haa. He graduated from the
Indian Military Academy
The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the oldest military academies in India, and trains officers for the Indian Army. Located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, it was established in 1932 following a recommendation by a military committee set up ...
in
Dehradun
Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, d ...
, India, at the end of 1954, and completed a post-training attachment with a range of Indian Army units and instructional schools. In March 1959, he received his first assignment, to establish the RBA training center in
Wangduephodrang. He also represented the Armed Forces at the National Assembly. In 1962, during the
Indo-China war, he was posted in Lingmithang to oversee the training of a military force drawn from Kurtoe, Bumthang, Mongar, and Shumar (now Pema Gatshel). He was promoted to the rank of Maktsi wogma
ieutenant Colonelon 7 August 1962, and served as the Commandant of the Training Center from 1963 to 1964. On 25 November 1964, he was appointed as the Chief Operations Officer at the army headquarters in Thimphu by the King
Jigme Dorji Wangchuck
Jigme Dorji Wangchuck (, ; 2 May 1928 – 21 July 1972) was the 3rd Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan.
He began to open Bhutan to the outside world, began modernization, and took the first step towards democratization.
Early life
Jigme Dorji Wangchuck wa ...
, who promoted him to Maktsi (Full Colonel) in 1970, and promoted him to the rank of Goongloen Wogma (Major General) in June 1981. He was further promoted as Goongloen Gongma (Lt. General) on August 2, 1991.
Other activities
As General Secretary of the National Sports Association of Bhutan, from 1974 to 1978, he worked directly under King Jigme Singye Wangchuck to develop the
Changlimithang Stadium
Changlimithang Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Thimphu, Bhutan, which serves as the national stadium of Bhutan. It is predominantly used for association football, football matches and is the home of the Bhutan national football team, other ...
and the Royal Thimphu Golf Club. In 1979, under the command of King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the RBA built the 21-kilometre Laptsakha irrigation channel in Punakha at a fraction of the estimated cost, enabling the resettlement of over 200 landless pensioners and bringing into cultivation over 1,200 acres of land. In 1981, he was appointed Chairman of the Government Welfare Project, now known as the Army Welfare Project (AWP), a project conceived and launched by the king to generate funds for the welfare of servicemen and to provide employment for retired personnel. Aimed at being a sustainable commercial venture that proved to be an example to other government ventures and corporations, AWP now earns more than Nu. 200 million a year.
In 1983 he was assigned command and control of the Royal Bhutan Police by the king to reorganise and streamline the service conditions and improve the morale of the RBP.
During the Ngolop uprising of 1990, the RBA safeguarded the security of the nation at a time when the southern Dzongkhags saw unprecedented violence. Under the personal leadership of King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the RBA rose to the challenge of flushing out the Indian militants who were illegally camped on Bhutanese soil in 2003.
During his 41 years as Chief Operations Officer, he developed a close rapport with 15 Chiefs of Army Staff of the Indian army. Generals and senior officers of the Indian army expressed their deep appreciation over the years for the outstanding contributions made by General Lam Dorji in enhancing the close friendship and cooperation between the Indian army and the Royal Bhutan Army, thereby contributing to the strengthening of Indo-Bhutan relations. As the Chief Operations Officer, Lam Dorji accompanied the king to the summits of the Non Aligned Movement and SAARC as well as the king's public meetings around the country.
He died on 27 April 2020.
Awards and decorations
For dedicated and distinguished service to the ''Tsa-Wa-Sum'' (King, Country and People), Lam Dorji was awarded the ''Druk Zhung Thugsay'' medal in July 1969, by King
Jigme Dorji Wangchuck
Jigme Dorji Wangchuck (, ; 2 May 1928 – 21 July 1972) was the 3rd Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan.
He began to open Bhutan to the outside world, began modernization, and took the first step towards democratization.
Early life
Jigme Dorji Wangchuck wa ...
. In 1991 King
Jigme Singye Wangchuck
Jigme Singye Wangchuck (, ; born 11 November 1955) is the fourth Druk Gyalpo ( Dragon King) of Bhutan, reigning from 1972 to 2006. He is the father of the present King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck. He is the only son of five ch ...
awarded him the highest medal of the Royal Bhutan Army, the ''Druk Yugyel'' (DYG). In recognition of his long and dedicated service to the Tsawa-Sum he was awarded the ''Drakpoi Wangyel'' medal (DW) by the king on 17 December 2001.
Lam Dorji was awarded the
Royal Order of Bhutan by the
Fifth King of Bhutan on 17 December 2010 for 49 years of service under the Third and Fourth Kings. The Fifth King said that Lam Dorji had already received the highest awards of the nation but was being recognized as a symbolic gesture to present him to the youth as an example and to show that "service to the nation shall never go forgotten."
References
8. https://kuenselonline.com/former-army-chief-goongloen-lam-dorji-passes-away/
9. https://kuenselonline.com/bhutan-bids-farewell-to-former-rba-chief-operations-officer/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorji, Lam
1933 births
Bhutanese military personnel
2020 deaths
People from Haa District