Pema Gyamtsho (

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 ...

: པདྨ་རྒྱ་མཚོ།, Wylie: pad+ma rgya mtsho, born in 1961) is a Bhutanese politician who served as the Second Party President of the Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party and Opposition Leader in the

National Assembly of Bhutan The National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Bhutan, and it's responsible for enacting laws, representing the people, and overseeing the government. It consists of 47 members elected from 47 constituencies across the ...

from 2013 until his resignation in 2020. Since then he has been the Director General of

International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is a regional intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental learning and knowledge sharing centre founded in 1981, serving the eight regional member countries of the Hindu ...

(, ICIMOD) . He also served as the Minister of Agriculture and Forests in the first elected government of Bhutan.

Early life and education

Career

In 1990, he graduated with an M.Agr.Sc (Hons) from New Zealand, with a thesis on lucerne grass, and in 1996 he took Ph.D. from

ETH Zurich ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. ETH Zurich ran ...

. He was a member of the Planning Commission, Sustainable Development Secretariat, Centre for Bhutan Studies, Forestry Development Corporation Board and Founding Co-Chairman of Bhutan Water Partnership. Later he was promoted to the Deputy Secretary of Policy Planning Division, Ministry of Agriculture. He worked with

based in Kathmandu, Nepal as a specialist in watershed. Ultimately he became the Deputy Resident Coordinator of Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation.Gyambo Sithey and Dr. Tandin Dorji (2009). In 2007, he became a member of

Druk Phuensum Tshogpa Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (; Wylie:'' 'brug phun-sum tshog-pa''; translation: Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party; abbr. DPT) is one of the major political parties in Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country ...

(Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party), and his name was registered in the constituency of

Bumthang District Bumthang District (Dzongkha: བུམ་ཐང་རྫོང་ཁག་; Wylie: ''Bum-thang rzong-khag'') is one of the 20 dzongkhag (districts) comprising Bhutan. It contains numerous temples and Buddhist sacred sites. The district is divide ...

for the General Election (the election of

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

). In March 2008, he won a clear victory in his constituency, and in April 2008 he was appointed the First Minister of Agriculture and Forest in the Democratic Government of Bhutan. In 2013, he ran for re-election in the General Election. While DPT was beaten by People's Democratic Party (PDP) in this election, he was elected the Member for the second term. In July 2013,

Jigme Thinley ''Lyonpo'' Jigme Yoser Thinley (Dzongkha: 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 ...

who had been the former Prime Minister and the President of Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party submitted his resignation for the Member of National Assembly before beginning its Legislative Session. On 24 July 2013 Pema Gyamtsho was appointed the Opposition Leader in the National Assembly for the Second Legislative Session. On 3 December 2013 he was elected as the new Party President.

Honours

* : **

The Royal Orange Scarf (7 November 2018).

References

Footnotes

* Gyambo Sithey & Dr. Tandin Dorji, ''Drukyul Decides'', Centre for Research Initiative (Thimphu), 2009. 1961 births Living people Bhutanese MNAs 2018–2023 21st-century Bhutanese politicians Bhutanese MNAs 2013–2018 Bhutanese MNAs 2008–2013 Druk Phuensum Tshogpa MNAs Lincoln University (New Zealand) alumni {{Bhutan-politician-stub